Fire and the Snow Queen
by pensversusswords
Summary: In a post war Arendelle, the usurper Hans sits on the throne and the rightful queen, Elsa forms an underground rebel group to overthrow the destructive King, and emarks on an adventure to win back her throne. Then theres the beautiful Anna, and romance develops between them as they are thrown together as they fight for peace in Arendelle. Elsanna romance.
1. Remembering

**A/N: **Hello reader, thanks for checking out my story! This is my first ever fanfic that I've ever put up for people to see and it's going to be about Elsa and Anna developing a relationship that will become romantic not too far down the road, but there is going to be a lot of adventure and fantasy themes thrown in there along the way. Enjoy :)

Cover art by the lovely PazGranger ... link to her tumblr in my profile!

* * *

All Elsa could remember from that day was her parents faces.

Everything else had become blurry in the past few years, but the image of her mother and father looking at her with terrified faces still burned at the back of her eyelids every night as she tried to sleep. Then came the nightmares when the darkness finally took her after hours of tossing on the hard mattress, and the screaming filled her head as she relived the fear of that day. The dreams were always the same; her running towards her parents, them with faces of terror that surely matched her own, and then they disappear from her sight and she is running towards nothing, but she keeps running because she knows if she doesn't she will be caught. _Run, you have to run_, the voice says in her head, and she does, until her legs are tired and her feet are aching and her lungs are gasping for air.

She awakes every morning in a pool of coldness, her hands tingling with her magic and her bed encased in a layer of ice. Icicles hang from the headboard and point dangerously in her direction, and she shivers internally. She is so cold. She is always _so_ cold.

Every morning is the same, she is wearing from a night of running from her demons and reliving tragedy. And every morning she stumbles out of bed, and closes her eyes for a moment, standing by the tiny window that lets in watery rays of early morning sunlight, and remembers everything that she has lost.

* * *

Elsa slammed her empty glass down on the table and wiped the remnants of ale from her lips furiously with the back of her sleeve. "I need another," she growled to the blonde who sat across the table from her, lips curled up in a bemused smirk. The smug disapproval wafting off of him was practically palpable.

"Don't you think you've had enough? I think if you have any more you'll end up face first on the floor, and there's no way in hell I'm carrying you up the stairs again. My back still hurts from last time." He arched his back dramatically and feigned a grimace of pain. Elsa fought the urge to roll her eyes at his theatrics. He could really be an incredible pain sometimes.

"Thanks for your concern Kristoff, but I think I'll be fine," she stood shakily and turned to make her way to the bar, stumbling slightly as her foot caught on the leg of her chair. She managed to catch herself on the edge of the table before she fell head first into the brawny man sitting at the table next to them. Steadying herself, she suppressed a grin as she heard Kristoff chuckle heartily at her clumsiness. She always turned into a fumbling mess when she drank, and tonight was no exception. She didn't care though, tonight she needed to numb herself to the world for a little while, to forget her obligations and inner turmoil for just a evening. She didn't think that was too much to ask for.

She made her way carefully to the bar, weaving through the crowded tavern, bathed in the sounds of rowdy laughter and hearty conversations. As she passed each table, everyone turned to look up at her with a look of happy recognition bordering on reverence as they took in her platinum blonde braid draped over her shoulder and ruffian attire of plain brown trousers and a pale blue tunic, paired with worn black boots that had seen better days. She wished they wouldn't look at her like that, as if she were some kind of goddess that deserved their loving glances. She was nothing of the sort, at times like these, despite everything that had happened, or maybe _because_ of everything that happened, she felt like a small child in a room full of strangers. How could she possibly live up to their expectations?

Trying to hide that she was internally squirming, she managed the most friendly smile she could muster, and nodded at them all politely, all the while clutching her father's sword at her waist for comfort_. I'm trying father_, she thought to herself, as if he could possibly hear her.

She flopped down at the bar and threw a plaintive look to the tired looking barkeeper on the other side. "Two more please Oliver." The thin, dark haired man peered out at her through narrowed eyes, clearly noting her slurred speech and far off expression. She cocks her head to the side, an exasperated expression on her face. "Come on Oliver, one more and I'll head upstairs for the night. One of them is for Kristoff." He looks at her a moment longer, contemplating, and then he sighs. He reaches for two glasses and pours her ale for her, and shoves them across the counter into her waiting hands. Before she could pick them up and stumble away and trudge across the room to her spot next to her best friend, he leaned close to her face and murmured to her under his breath.

"Elsa, I know you're hurtin', but we're counting on you darlin'. You're our only hope. Don't go forgetting that." His eyes were kind as he said this to her, and she knew he was right. But tonight was about _forgetting_, and she was determined to do that. So she smiled at him politely in appreciation, turned and walked away, shouting over her shoulder for him to put the drinks on her tab. She didn't want anyone telling her how to act tonight.

The rest of the night passed in a blur, she talked to Kristoff for a while, laughed mildly at his poorly constructed but well intentioned jokes, until she was too weary to keep her eyes open for a moment longer. Then, even though he said he wouldn't, Kristoff carried her up the stairs and laid her gently on her bed, already fast asleep. He undid the strap around her waist that held up the sheath and sword, and pulled it away from her side slowly, careful not to wake her. He placed it carefully on the small wooden desk in the corner, and left the room slowly, hoping for Elsa's sake that she wouldn't be tormented by nightmares tonight.


	2. First Meeting

Elsa awoke the next morning with a start, to the sound of someone pounding loudly on the door. She groaned loudly, noting that the way the sunlight was coming through the window, it was far earlier than she wanted to be awake, and whoever was hammering at her door better have an excellent reason for waking her.

"Who is it?" she shouted groggily, sitting up and groaning again as a headache began throbbing between her temples, and her eyes immediately squinted shut. She shoved the palms of her hands into her eyes, wishing the sudden onslaught of pain away.

"It's Kristoff. Get up, Oaken needs you down at headquarters." Elsa considered for a moment just ignoring him and staying in her bed for a while longer, but even though his voice was muffled through the door, she could hear the insistence in his voice. She couldn't get out of this.

"Tell him I'll be down soon." She waited until she heard him thumping down the stairs before sluggishly throwing her legs over the side of the bed and standing on shaking legs. She hardly even glanced at the state of her bed, after two years of it happening every night, it didn't even faze her anymore, she'd gotten used to the fact that she just couldn't control her magic in her sleep. She hardly even had to concentrate as she drew the magic from her bed back into her fingertips, removing all evidence that last night had been fraught with nightmares, just like every other.

She tore off last night's clothes and threw them in a corner of the room, telling herself that she would take care of them later, even though she knew they would probably stay there for days before she would remember to pick them up. She tossed on a nearly identical outfit and pulled on her boots, then lovingly picked up her father's sword, grasped the hilt that bore designs of Arendelle, holding it gently in her fist before strapping it to her waist. She ran her fingers through her hair, fixing her braid as she slammed her door behind her and ran down the stairs. She went out back through the tavern kitchens, grabbing an apple passed through, smiling a thanks to the cook before running out the door.

The city was bustling, even this early in the morning, the air filled with the sounds of chatter and the clattering of horse hooves and their carts clanking behind them. Children laughed as they dashed through the street, not acknowledging the shouts of frustration they got from people they almost knocked over. Elsa loved the city, it smelled like baked bread and spices, and everyone smiled at her and wished her a good day as she passed them. Walking through the streets like this always made her forget for a few moments that everything was not alright in the world, and that everyone she saw was potentially in danger from that brute Hans who sat on the throne as if it was his to possess.

_Hans_. She felt herself shiver in disgust at just the mere thought of his name. It was because of him her life had fallen apart, and the whole kingdom of Arendelle was in danger. She hated him more than she hated anything in her entire life. She couldn't wait to see him lose every last bit of his power.

Her irate train of thought was interrupted by a warm body colliding with her back, sending her sprawling face first into the dirt.

She lay still for a moment, partially because she was shocked and had no idea what had just happened, and also because she was making sure she wasn't injured in any way, before she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She doubled over in a fit of coughing, which only made the pain in her head intensify, the dust that had started swirling around her due to the fall lodging itself uncomfortably in her throat. She spent a few moments hacking into her sleeve, then turned with watery eyes to see who her assailant was, an annoyed accusation already forming on her tongue.

It never made it out of her mouth though, when she saw who had unceremoniously knocked her to the ground.

A girl about her own age, maybe a year or two younger, sat a few feet away, her red hair wound up into a loose bun on the top of her head. She was wearing a simple green dress with sleeves that were slightly too long, and hung off of her slim frame in awkward places, as if she was wearing someone else's dress who was a bit taller and wider than her. She had a dusting of freckles across her nose and her pale shoulders, and Elsa couldn't help but noticing the way her nose scrunched up in the presence of all the dust. The reason Elsa didn't say anything, however, was the fact that the girl was staring at her with a look of horror in her bright blue eyes, and was rambling, stumbling over her words in shock.

"Oh my goodness, I am so so so sorry, I didn't even see you there! I guess I wasn't even looking where I was going, I always do that, I really try not to, but I'm just so clumsy and I'm in a rush, I'm always late for something. Are you hurt? Oh I hope I didn't hurt you, here I'll help you up." While the words tumbled out of her, she had scrambled to her feet and was offering one hand to Elsa, while the other was busy trying to wipe off the dirt that was clinging to her dress. She accepted her hand and let her haul her into a standing position. Once she was on her feet, she met her horrified gaze and tried to smile at her as kindly as she could manage.

"It's alright, no harm done." Elsa could tell her voice was cool, but annoyance at being knocked over won the battle against her politeness.

"I'm so glad, are you sure you're okay? I've made your clothes filthy, oh my goodness. I'm awful, I'm sorry." Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment now, and it made the freckles on her face even more noticeable. She ducked her head and shuffled her feet anxiously, one hand reaching up to tuck a strand of her fiery hair behind her ear.

Elsa permitted herself a small laugh and a thin smile to try to calm the girl down. "Really, its fine. Don't worry about it." She fought a sudden urge to pat the girl on the shoulder to reassure her, but she dismissed it and cleared her throat."You said you were in a rush didn't you?" She hoped that didn't sound too much like a dismissal.

The girl looked up at her words and her eyes widened in realization. "Yes! I'm so late, I have to go. Sorry again!" She gave her a little wave, and just like that, the girl was bounding away, the last of her words fading off in the distance as she took off running.

Elsa straightened her shirt and brushed off her trousers before taking off in the direction she was had been heading before she was interrupted. She almost felt a twinge of regret as she glanced around her and saw that the girl was already out of sight. She seemed sweet, and Elsa wouldn't have minded talking to her for a little while longer. She shook off the thought immediately, chiding herself for being silly. She'd only said a few words to her, and the encounter had lasted under a minute. She would probably never see her again.

She didn't even know her name.

* * *

Elsa reached the edge of town only minutes later, and where the road began to branch off into the wooded area that surrounded the city, she veered off the path and took off into the trees. The forest was still damp from the morning dew, and early morning birds chirped softly in the treetops, a calming and comforting melody that Elsa allowed herself to enjoy. The way the light was flitting down onto the forest floor and the uplifting melody of birdsong rose her spirits considerably, and she could feel the pain in her head fading slightly as she breathed in the fresh air and strode purposefully through the dense woods.

It was not long before she reached her destination; a rushing river that was fed by a considerably large waterfall, that flowed off of a precipice of jagged rocks. Elsa bent down and pulled her boots off and rolled her pant legs up, before stepping into the ankle deep water. She stepped carefully over the rocks that surrounded the base of the waterfall, before ducking behind it, and into the cavern behind it.

Before her was an enormous space, filled with echoing voices and the clanking of swords. Along both sides of the cavern were thousands of torches that cast a flickering light over everything. At the far end of the cavern, an arena circled with a makeshift fence housed fighters hacking at each other with their swords, each of them with intense expressions of concentration as they improved their skills. Elsa felt a small glimmer of pride rising in her throat as she looked over them. _My army_, she thought to herself as she shoved her boots back onto her damp feet. _They will put things right in this kingdom._

She saw Kristoff in the distance with one of the newer recruits, teaching him how to lunge properly. The other man was skinny but light on his feet, and Elsa could tell that Kristoff was impressed with what he was seeing. He said something to him and patted him on the back, a wide grin stretched across his face. He glanced up then and saw Elsa, and gave her an enthusiastic wave, which she returned, glad to see her friend.

She heard a voice calling her name, and she tore her eyes away from the fighters, and turned towards the voice. Her commander, Oaken, was standing next to the tents, dwellings for the soldiers who couldn't find board in the nearby city. He gestured for her to come and join him. Reminded of why she had come here so early in the first place, she nodded and made her way over to him, ducking into his tent.

"Elsa I'm glad to see you here. Thank you for coming so quickly." He sat down on the far side of the room, gesturing for her to sit down in a nearby chair. She sat, thankful for the comfort of the chair against her back.

"I hope there's nothing wrong," she said slowly, brows drawn together in worry.

Oaken waved his hand and shook his head. "No, of course not, I mean, besides the usual, you know, being oppressed by a cruel and deceitful King. Ha!" His voice was dripping with sarcasm. "No, I just wanted to speak with you about our numbers. Mainly that they're far too low."

Ah. That was a problem. She knew that there had been difficulties discreetly gathering troops, since most people were either too scared of Hans to fight, or just didn't want to involve themselves in another war. The last one had been disastrous enough, and the general attitude of the people was that it was most likely that this one would hardly go any better. Elsa leaned forward on her elbows. "Well, as former commander of Arendelle's army, I assume that you would know best. But I'm not sure what we can do at this point."

Oaken sighed and looked at her with a pained expression. "We need to expand our search to the outer regions of Arendelle. Maybe even plead with the Southern Isles for their help. I know they haven't been known to be allies in our past, but maybe they will help if we show them how much our country and its citizens are suffering."

Elsa nodded in agreement. "You're right. But how do you propose that we convince any more to join our side? Most are too scared to fight."

"Well," he hesitated before he finished his statement. With a frown he continued, "I think it's time for you to come out of hiding and begin recruiting the soldiers yourself. You'll have to come with us."

Elsa raised her eyebrows in surprise. Of all things he could have proposed to her, she hadn't been expecting him to say that. "What? Aren't you the one that suggested that I don't leave the city at all, because it would be too dangerous? You were insistent."

Oaken stood and began pacing back and forth across the room. "Yes you're right, but I also don't want this to be a lost cause. And the reality is, we don't have enough soldiers to even come close to defeating Hans, and there's no other way. People will listen to you, they want a figure they can follow, someone they can trust to bring them into a peaceful era. It won't have the same effect if I just go with a few of my soldiers as messengers. You have to come. As much as I'd like for you to stay here, as safe as possible, we have to do what's best for Arendelle."

Elsa pondered this for a moment. Everything he was saying made sense, and it didn't seem like she had any other options. Still, she felt a ball of fear and anxiety begin to form in her stomach and her palms become clammy. Staying here was safe, or at least, as safe as she could be. What if they hated her out there? They might decide that she was no good for being a ruler and they would take Hans side, because at least he seemed to know what he was doing. She didn't feel like she knew what she was doing in the slightest.

While she was lost in thought, her fingers had drifted towards the hilt of her sword, and she curled them around it and closed her eyes. _Father, I know I have to be brave for you and Mother. I'm just so scared. _The lack of response was harsher at this moment more than most, because right now she felt like she really needed some parental reassurance, and the fact that she couldn't have that was agonizing. But she knew what she had to do, there was no way around it.

She snapped herself out of her spiral of doubt and worry when she felt her fingertips tingling, and felt a formation of ice beginning to coat the hilt of the sword. She drew in her breath sharply with a hiss, and the coldness retreated. _Conceal it Elsa. You have to control yourself._

She drew in her breath unsteadily and opened her eyes. Oaken was staring at her with a hopeful expression and his arms crossed tightly over his chest, worried what her response might be. Not wanting her voice to betray her fear, knowing it would be shaky if she spoke, she simply nodded, a hard expression painted on her face.

Oaken's shoulders visibly relaxed and he let out a heavy breath. "Thank you Elsa - uh, Your Highness." Elsa contorted her face at him, she hated when he called her that. He smiled knowingly at her and continued. "I promise you will be protected, in fact..."

He wasn't able to finish his sentence, because he was interrupted by a cheerful, out of breath voice filling the room.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I really tried to be on time, everything just seemed to go wrong this morning, it was just one thing after another, I hope I haven't caused any trouble."

Elsa's back stiffened and her face turned into one of confusion. Where had she heard that voice before?

As she turned towards the speaker, Oaken let out a roaring laugh. "Ha! There you are, glad you made it. Elsa, I want you to meet one of your new guards who I took the liberty of hiring in hopes that you would agree to my proposition. I searched all over the city to find you the best archer to be one of your personal protectors and I found this lovely ray of sunshine."

When Elsa and the girl's gaze met, their expressions where both comically shocked, but the other girl's eyes were wide with astonishment as she recognized the young woman she had knocked over that morning. Her face turned bright red, even more so than it did that morning, and her mouth hung open in a perfect 'o'. She sputtered for a moment before gasping in a barely audible voice, "I pushed the Queen of Arendelle into the dirt." The absolute dismay in her voice was almost funny, but Elsa was too surprised to react audibly. She thought she'd never see the girl again, and she was shocked at how happy she was that she had been wrong.

Oaken, not noticing the exchange and recognition between the two girls, strode over to the girl and his hulking figure crushed the tiny girl into a hug, her feet lifting off the ground in his enthusiasm. Elsa almost chuckled, Oaken was known for his over-friendliness. He set her down lightly on her feet and spun around, throwing an arm over her shoulder.

"Elsa, I'd like you to meet Anna."


	3. Decisions

Anna could feel the blood rushing to her face as she stood in complete humiliation. How could her luck be so terrible that this had happened to her? She had always been clumsy and awkward, but _this_...

She wished she could close her eyes and disappear.

But that wasn't going to happen, she just had to deal with it and endure the embarrassment.

Looking at her now, Anna had no trouble believing that she was royalty; she stood with this kind of regal grace, and every movement flowed as if it was some kind of majestic dance. She had the mannerisms of someone who had spend hours upon hours in classes that taught her how to be poised and elegant, and even in her plain attire, that royal essence shone through. Her blonde braid hung perfectly over her shoulder, not a hair out of place, and her clothes looked neat and tidy. No one would be able to tell that not that long ago she was flat on her stomach in the middle of the dirty street.

Anna couldn't help but notice how stunningly beautiful she was, she was practically radiating beauty, as if it was oozing out of her pores. The sword on her hip and the clothes somehow doubled this factor as it framed her slender figure, and she was now clutching the hilt of said sword absent mindedly.

She was startled out of her thoughts when she heard her name being said rather loudly. Her head whipped around and her vision focused on Oaken, who was staring at her expectantly, as if he was waiting for her to answer a question.

"I-I uh... sorry, I didn't hear what you said," she stammered out, trying her hardest not to awkwardly stare at the ground again. _Keep your head up_, she told herself firmly, standing up as straight as she could.

"I asked if you'd like Elsa to show you around a bit, so you could get better acquainted with each other. After all, you'll be travel companions soon enough."

Anna just nodded instead of answering, and before she knew it Elsa was leading her out of the tent, back out into the cavern.

* * *

They walked in silence for a few moments, Elsa staring straight ahead and walking purposefully through the throngs of tents, nodding politely when people greeted her. Anna walked beside her with her thoughts jumbled together as she tried to find something to say without making herself sound like a fool again. Minimizing any potential embarrassment was her main goal at this point, she didn't want this beautiful creature to hate her before they even left on a long journey together. She was so lost in thought that she almost missed it when Elsa turned to her and spoke in a soft voice.

"Have you met anyone else from the camp yet?" She was peering at her quizzically out of the corner of her eye, waiting for Anna's response. For a moment Anna felt herself getting all flustered again, and thoughts like, _oh my goodness the Queen is looking straight at me, what do I do_, clouded her mind for a few moments before she composed herself and answered.

"No!" She said much louder than she had intended. She cleared her throat and adjusted her volume. "I haven't met anyone yet Your Majesty."

The expression that crossed the young blonde's face in that moment was hard to read, but Anna could detect a sliver of sadness creeping into her eyes. She felt her heart drop. _I made the Queen sad. _She struggled for a way to ask what she had said wrong and how to apologize, when the moment passed and Elsa smiled a small, crooked smile and her expression softened a bit. "I'll introduce you around then. You don't need to call me that, by the way. Considering I'm not actually the Queen."

"You're the true Queen though," Anna exclaimed. "Once we defeat Hans, you'll be back in your throne, where you belong."

Elsa still had that tiny, crooked smile on as she turned to Anna and stopped walking. She put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in slightly before speaking. "I appreciate you saying that. Even so, just calling me Elsa is fine."

The nearness of her face made Anna nervous again, and she was surprised to find out that she could feel how cold Elsa's hand was through the thin fabric of her dress, and a tiny shiver shook her spine. She couldn't tell if it was from the sudden coolness of Elsa's hand on her or from the sudden piercing stare of her intense blue eyes. Anna felt strange all of a sudden, as if someone had released butterflies in her stomach and they were fluttering around trying to escape. Elsa had the prettiest eyes she had ever seen, and standing closer to her, she could tell that there were bags under her eyes that indicated that she hadn't slept much the night before. She looked extremely tired, actually, Anna noted. She wondered what could be keeping her up at night that made her look like she hadn't even spent more than an hour asleep.

She also noticed the light flecks of freckles that dotted her cheekbones that she hadn't seen before. They blended so well with her pale skin, it was hard to see them unless you really looked at her face, but Anna just thought that upon noticing them, they just added to how beautiful she was. Her _eyes _though. No one's stare had ever affected Anna so much that her stomach was doing flip flops and her hands were clammy. Her eyes were boring into her, and for some reason Anna couldn't pull her gaze away from the other girl's.

After what could have been minutes, or just a few moments, Anna shook herself, realizing that she had been staring blankly into Elsa's eyes for longer than was probably appropriate. She didn't know what had caused her to zone out so completely, so she assumed a cheery smile to cover up her momentary confusion. "Okay Elsa," she said clearly, hoping that all the red had finally drained from her face at that point."I'd love to meet the others."

The first person Elsa introduced her to was a tall, fair haired man named Kristoff. They found him leaning against a fence post on the outskirts of the arena, his hair tousled from scuffling with the other fighters. When he saw Elsa approaching, a goofy grin spread across his face and hugged her tightly to his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist and twirling her around as she thumped on his chest in mock anger for him to let her down. She was smiling though, Anna saw when he set her back on her feet, her face lit up and her cheeks slightly flushed. Elsa turned to introduce him to her as soon as she was released.

"Kristoff, this is Anna, one of the new guards. She's an archer. Anna this is my best friend Kristoff." Anna waved a hello to him, and was completely shocked into laughing out loud when he bounded forward and folded her into a hug as well. It was less aggressive than the one he gave Elsa, but still surprising nonetheless.

"Anyone who protects Elsa is a friend of mine," he said as he released her and backed away, and bumped Elsa with his shoulder, grinning wildly the whole time. Anna immediately liked this man with his friendly charm and his apparent affection for Elsa. He seemed like someone it was easy to fall into a comfortable friendship with.

Elsa pushed him away and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Be gentle mister, I'm going to need her when we leave."

At her words Kristoff's face grew serious as he looked down at his friend. "Are you going to be alright?" Concern was written all over his face, and he placed a hand on her shoulder as if to reassure her. "It's your choice you know, if you feel like it's too dangerous and you're worried about Hans and his troops finding you, we can go without you easily..."

"Kristoff!" Elsa cut him off mid sentence, gently removed his hand and stepped out of his reach. "I would be a bad leader if I kept sending out people to do my work for me. Of course I have to go."

Creases formed in his forehead as his expression became increasingly more worried. "You don't, Elsa. It will be dangerous."

"Yes I do Kristoff," she said firmly. "I've made my decision and I'm not changing it."

Kristoff studied her for a few more second before sighing and nodding slightly, a smile returning to his face, but remnants of the worry still lingering around his eyes. "You know best, milady," he said with exaggerated gallantry, swooping down into a courtier's bow so deep that he almost fell forward. Elsa emitted a soft laugh and shook her head in amusement as Kristoff straightened, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Quit it," she smirked, throwing another harmless punch in his direction before turning to Anna once more. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the archers."

The rest of her time with Elsa that day passed in a blur. She introduced her to a slew of the other soldiers, and Anna knew that there was no way that she would be able to keep any of them straight for quite some time, but she smiled politely and shook their hands anyways, happy that everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Anna also liked how fondly they looked at Elsa, with a mix of gratitude and respect. Anna knew that having a leader that was well liked and respected, was a huge plus when it came to everything running smoothly, and Elsa was clearly born to be a leader.

Her favourite part of the day was when a tall skinny man with a scruffy beard and kind brown eyed handed her his bow so she could show them her skills. Her own bow was back in her small living quarters at the other side of camp, so she was grateful for the loan, and she followed them to an area where target were laid out for practice. She impressed herself by hitting them all perfectly, except for one which somehow ended up slightly to the right of the center of the target. She earned applause from Elsa nonetheless, and the man who let her use his bow, Alec was his name, looked clearly impressed with her performance. She felt proud of herself that she'd made a good first impression.

As the day wore on, she found herself in the dining hall, seated next to the guest of honour at a table that consisted of Alec, Kristoff, and a few other brawny looking soldiers that Anna couldn't remember the names of. They all laughed and shoveled food into their mouths like they hadn't eaten in a month, and after they finished they sang rowdy sea shanties that would have made her mother ashamed of her for laughing at. Elsa looked like she enjoyed it too, and every once in a while, she would send a smile Anna's way and once when the loudest man singing said something especially risqué, she winked at Anna and she thought that she might melt into a puddle right there on her stool. Anna loved every minute of it. She felt so warm and contented, and when Elsa finally told her she had to go and left her with Kristoff to show her the rest of everything she needed to know, she was absolutely sure that no one in Arendelle would make a better queen than Elsa.


	4. The Dragon-Rider

Three days later, they were ready to leave. And Elsa was in a horrible mood.

Elsa stood near the riverbed next to her horse, Alf, feeling her nervousness wash over her as her stomach churned in anticipation. Even though they were embarking on a potentially dangerous journey that could involve her getting hurt, there was something about the possibility for adventure that was making that nervousness partially caused by her excitement.

And then there was the part of her that was writhing to take down that monster who sat on her throne. But, to be fair, that fuelled every single breath that passed through her lungs, coaxed her muscles into taking every single step. With every exhale and every stride the desire to destroy him coursed through her veins.

She sighed, and leaned against Alf, burying herself in his white coat and feeling his mane mingling with the blondness of her own hair. Patience was required when it came to thoughts of the treacherous King. He would not be taken down so easily, Elsa knew that. They needed extensive planning, and a powerful army to lay siege to the castle. They needed time.

As if two years hadn't already been enough.

Alf whinnied softly and butted his head against her, making her chuckle and breaking her foul mood for a moment, as she reached over and ran her hand along the softness of his nose. He'd been her horse back when she lived at the palace, a gift from her mother for her sixteenth birthday. He'd been so tiny and wobbly when she first saw him, and he had fallen with his head in her lap within moments of her coming into his stall. Elsa could still remember the way his big, brown eyes peered up at her, and even though he was a horse, she could've sworn that he was looking up at her with trust in his eyes. She had adored him ever since.

"He's gorgeous." Elsa started at the voice behind her and turned around quickly to see who had come up behind her. She was greeted by Anna's smiling face. She felt the corners of her mouth turning up in return at seeing the pretty redhead again. She found herself being extremely happy to see her. The girl was dressed in more practical clothes for travel today than she was the first time she saw her, wearing a tunic with a purple hue and brown trousers. Her boots looked even more worn than Elsa's, but she managed to pull it off pretty well. She also had a quiver full of arrows and an ornate bow across her back, and Elsa couldn't help but notice how comfortable she looked with it there, as if she felt the same way about that bow as Elsa did about her father's sword.

"He is isn't he," she said brightly, feeling her sour mood lifting even more as she spoke to her. "Hear that Alf? She thinks your gorgeous." She feigned whispering in his ear, whilst she tangled her fingers in his mane.

"That's right I do," Anna came up beside her and began to stroke his neck. She looked over at Elsa then, with a concerned gleam in her eyes. "Are you ready for this? I know it's got to be - "

Elsa cut her off before she could go any further. "Please, don't worry about me. This is my duty, and I have no doubts going into it. Trust me," she reassured the girl. Anna still looked unconvinced though and her mouth gaped open as she was about to say something else when a booming voice rang all around them.

"Ready to move out?" Elsa looked up to see Oaken looming over her on his horse, and beyond him the expectant faces of the rest of her guards. She nodded at him, and he turned to tell the rest of the them to prepare to leave. Elsa swung herself into her saddle, clambering up onto Alf's back and patted his neck when she was settled. Anna grinned up at her for a moment before turning and scampering off to her own horse, gracefully pulling herself up and into its saddle. Elsa took a deep breath, and pull Alf alongside Oaken, who gave her a questioning look, which she returned with a tight smile. She urged Alf to set off at a trot, and just like that, they were off.

* * *

Elsa found herself thinking after hours and hours of mundane riding, being jolted back and forth on the back of her horse, that travelling seemed much more agreeable as an idea, as opposed to actually taking part in it. As much as she adored her commander, Oaken was hardly good for engaging company when he was in his stern, business like guard mode, and everyone else rode behind them in pairs. There were six of them in total, besides Elsa and Oaken. They had decided that it was the smallest number they could manage for safety reasons, and the largest number they could manage for having some amount of stealth. Anna and Kristoff rode directly behind the two leaders, and Elsa had turned a few times to see her and Kristoff talking animatedly, but they were far enough behind her that she wasn't able to make out what they were saying. Beyond them, in the back, rode Alec and another man who had humongous muscles and a hulking presence, whom Elsa didn't know the name of, but everyone called him Bear. She didn't find his presence overly comforting when she had first met him, he seemed kind of slimy and the way his little black eyes leered at her had made her squirm. When Oaken had told her that he would be coming with them as part of her personal guard, she hadn't been able to stop a flicker of disapproval flash across her face, but he had assured her that he was the best swordsman of the lot, and completely loyal to her. So Elsa accepted and didn't argue with her commander's judgement. But he still made her uncomfortable, and she felt like she could feel his eyes burning holes into her back the whole time they rode.

And so they day passed as such, with Elsa hardly uttering a single word, lost in her own thoughts, until Oaken finally called for them to make camp for the night. The sun was just dipping under the horizon and blinking out of sight just as they pulled off the road and descended into the trees to find a secluded place to camp.

Oaken knew these lands well, and it didn't take them long to find a clearing next to a trickling stream, and it didn't take long for everyone to begin setting up, soon the little clearing was aflutter in activity as they all scurried around doing their own little tasks. Elsa insisted she be given a job as well, and she found herself gathering firewood with Alec; picking the forest floor in the dim lighting for sticks that blended into the ground was no easy task, but Elsa was glad to be on her feet and keeping her hands busy.

After doing their job in silence for a few minutes, Alec spoke to her.

"I'm sorry about what happened." Elsa looked up at him sharply, not needing to ask him what he was talking about to know what he meant.

"Thank you," she said, feeling solemnity stain the air around her.

"The King and Queen were wonderful rulers," he continued softly. "Everyone loved them. You must miss them very much."

"Yes," she choked, and cleared her throat before speaking again. "I do, very much." She was sure the appreciation for his words showed on her face very clearly; it had been a long time since someone reminded her of how much her parents had been beloved by the kingdom. They were truly the perfect rulers.

They continued in silence again, Elsa thinking about her parents, when he spoke again.

"What do you like to do?" He said, as he stepped carefully over a tree root to pick up a rather large piece of kindling.

"I'm sorry, what?" Elsa was confused at his question.

His voice was amused when he answered her. "I mean, what do you like to do when you're not performing your duties, and plotting to overthrow the King? I'm positive that's not all you do."

She paused her search to think about it for a moment. What _did_ she like to do? The past two years of her life since she had fled from her home had been filled with staying hidden and planning the rebellion. There had been no time for hobbies, her days were filled with combat training and battle strategies and making diplomatic decisions. The only time she had to herself was when she went to the tavern for a drink with Kristoff.

She winced at the thought. Was she really in such a position that the closest thing she could consider a hobby was _drinking_?

"I don't know," she finally responded, convinced that her dismay was incredibly apparent in her voice.

"There must be something," he said gently, as he sprung to her side and grabbed her arm with one hand when she stumbled and almost fell forward. "Think," he urged.

By that time, both of them had stopped looking for wood, and they were standing quietly, Elsa leaning against a tree with a perplexed expression on her face.

_There has to be something,_ she thought. What did she like to do back before everything happened? She'd spent a lot of her days dressed in fine clothes, talking to other courtiers and learning how to one day take the throne, taking lessons in poise and geometry and...

"Books!" Elsa shouted, and then immediately reddened when Alec jumped and almost dropped his pile of sticks. "S-sorry, uh.. I liked to read. At least I did back when I was at the palace. We had this beautiful library, with rows and rows of books, and these cozy little alcoves all over where I could crawl in with a blanket and just curl up with a book for hours and hours and not be disturbed by anyone." She smiled at the memory. She'd forgotten about the library. It had been her favourite place in the world as a child, right up until she left. She suddenly missed it terribly.

"What kind of books did you read?" He asked.

"Oh, all kinds. But my favourites were the ones about mythology. You know, giant beasts and dashing heroes, the whole works. My favourite though, was about a demi-goddess named Arabelle. That's where the root of the word for naming Arendelle came from, did you know that?" He shook his head, and he looked at least mildly interested in what she was saying, so she continued. "Well, she was this peasant woman who was born in a time of war, the war lasted for nearly two hundred years if I remember correctly, against an evil sorcerer who wanted to take the land from its people. He wanted to rule over them, and if they had succumbed to his power, they all would have been enslaved, and all that they were would have been lost. But the legend says that she followed a prophecy, and went to the volcano at the edge of the Kingdom, where it was said the last of the dragons lived. When she got there, she found out that he was really there, and she awoke him. She rode on his back and defeated the sorcerer, and there was peace in the kingdom for the first time in centuries. She became the first Queen of Arendelle." Elsa realized that she was talking a lot, but as she remembered her favourite childhood story, she felt herself become excited with nostalgia. She'd forgotten how much she had loved the story of Arabelle the Dragon-Rider.

"'And from the ashes and dust a mighty Queen arose/fire and flame hers to bend, and drew the war to close,'" Alec said quietly, and Elsa could hardly suppress her excitement when she recognized the words and she responded.

"You've read it!" She knew she was grinning like an idiot, but she hardly even cared.

The dark haired man was smiling back at her, and the darkening of the approaching night around them made the whiteness of his teeth stand out against the darkness. "I have, I remember now. When I was a boy I stole it from the local bookshop and I must have read it a hundred times. Don't worry though, I did return it, and apologized for the thieving" he laughed.

She responded by chuckling along with him, her amusement at the light-hearted conversation boiling over. She liked this soft spoken man, with his handsome face and his shaggy black hair, and his kind words. She was enjoying his conversation immensely. It was so nice for someone to want to know something about her, someone she had never really spoken to before taking an interest in her. It was oddly flattering.

"Do you suppose it's true?" He said so seriously that for a moment Elsa had to remind herself that they were talking about a book of mythologies.

She considered it for a moment before answering. "I'd like to think it's true. I remember when I was young I always hoped that I would one day be as great of a queen as she was."

At her words, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and looked at her through a veil of thick eyelashes. "You will be an even greater queen. I'm sure of it."

She gave him a crooked grin of appreciation, and cleared her throat. "Thank you. That's really kind of you to say." He nodded at her, not taking his gaze away from her face, and Elsa felt herself fidget a little under his scrutiny. She fidgeted nervously and pushed herself off from the tree. "We should probably be getting back, we've been gone for a while."

"You're right," he agreed, and with that, they set off back in the direction of the camp.

* * *

Hours later, Elsa laying silently in her tent, belly only half full with the meagre rations she had been given, and her heart full of the merriment that had been in the air as they all huddled around the fire and told stories and sang songs together. The companionship was gratifying, and Elsa felt herself in high spirits as the evening wore on, and she partook in the company of her travel companions. She had sat next to Anna the whole night through, and her gawky charm had startled her into laughter more than once over the course of the evening. She had felt the warmest she had been in longer than she could remember, her shivering subsided for a while as she relished the company and warmth of a good fire and kind travel companions. Even Bear had relinquished some of his creepiness for the night, and reclined against a tree stump, grinning along with the frivolity that everyone else was revelling in.

But now she was alone, and Anna wasn't there to make her laugh any more, or Oaken to tell her a scary, and ridiculous story about the shadows that danced in the night air around them. She was alone in her tent, and after being distracted from her demons for a whole day, she felt them rushing back as soon as there was nothing there to stop them from pouring into her mind like poison. She was afraid to close her eyes and try to sleep, because she knew from experience that when she felt like this, she would be wrought with dreams even worse than usual, and she would awake the entire camp with her screams, and they would all come rushing in to see what was wrong, and they would find her encased in a sea of snow and ice. There was no way she could let that happen.

But she had to sleep. She would have to deal with it eventually.

_But not yet,_ she told herself as she struggled into a sitting position. Maybe a walk would help. She searched through the dark for her boots and coat while she threw her blankets off of her, and pulled herself to her feet. When she found them she stepped into her boots and wrapped the plain, threadbare jacket around her and stepped out of the tent and into the cool air.

Anna was still out there, sitting next to the fire, poking it with a stick and watching the sparks dance to the ragged rhythm of the crackling of the kindling, as the flames ate it up and turned it to ash. Her back was to Elsa, and she was so absorbed in the fire that she didn't even notice Elsa until she cleared her throat to announce her presence.

Anna threw her stick down and turned around quickly to see who it was. When she saw Elsa there, Anna's face lit up, and Elsa felt a strange tightening in her chest that almost felt somewhat contentment; she was happy that Anna seemed so enthused to see her.

"Elsa! What are you doing up? I mean, not that I don't mind because I definitely don't mind at all, I just was wondering because you should be sleeping, we have a long day tomorrow and stuff. I'm only up because it's my watch duty and I have to, you know, just in case something happens. Not that anything is going to happen! It's just a precaution, but you know that... sorry, I'm rambling aren't I?" She shifted from her cross legged position and drew her knees into her chest and murmured into the fabric of her trousers. "It's a nervous habit, I'm sorry."

Elsa wanted to hug her suddenly, to chase away her embarrassment, and tell her that she actually thought it was kind of adorable the way she spoke with such abandon and passion no matter what she was saying. Elsa wished she could be more like that, instead of always trying to be so cool and collected, a result of constantly keeping her emotions at bay. But seeing it in Anna was extremely endearing.

She didn't say that though. She just sat down next to Anna, and crossed her legs, resting her hands on her knees. "It's perfectly alright. I like hearing you talk."

"Really?" Her face was alight with uncertain satisfaction, and Elsa found herself smothering a bemused chuckle. How had this girl managed to beat out every other archer Oaken had tried out, for the position as one of her most trusted guards? Her mannerisms and charming awkwardness were almost childlike, and they didn't seem to belong to someone who was considered to be a gifted fighter. But Elsa had seen her in action, back in the arena, and there was no doubt about her talents.

It just didn't really seem to fit with the image of this adorable young girl.

"Yes of course," Elsa replied simply, but her face remained open and friendly, despite the short reply.

"I'm glad," Anna sighed, turning back to gaze into the fire. Losing herself for a few moments Elsa caught herself staring at the sliver of flesh that appeared when she moved, that revealed a patch of her freckled shoulder. Her skin looked so soft and smooth, she almost wanted to run her fingertips against it. She found herself wondering what it would feel like against her hand, or against her lips...

Wait. _What?_

Elsa shook herself and looked away, frowning. Where had _that_ thought come from.

"What's wrong?" Anna's voice rang through the air like a little bell, or a wind chime, and Elsa looked back over at her and smoothed the confusion off of her face as best as she could.

"Nothing, nothing at all," she said, and leaned back on her hands and tilted her head back, closing her eyes, trying to rid her brain of the strange thoughts._ Focus on the fire, Elsa. The warmth that's seeping into your skin. Let it thaw you inside and out._

They say there in silence for a while, Elsa with her eyes closed and enjoying the comfort of the fire, and Anna once again poking at it with a stick, seemingly fascinated by its effervescent light. Every once in a while the stick would catch fire, and Anna would take it out of the fire and blow it out, leaving behind a glowing cinder at the tip. She did this over and over until she grew tired of it, and set the stick down beside her with a sigh.

At this, Elsa opened her eyes to observe the girl again. She wondered what was on the girl's mind, what she was thinking about as she sat silently and stood watch over her. What daydreams lay inside that head of hers.

With this train of thought Elsa realized something, and she straightened herself, almost violently jolting her body into an upright position. "Anna, I don't know anything about you! I never thought to ask... like where you come from or if you have a family waiting for you anywhere. I'm sorry, it's so awful that I never asked, I should know these things about the people who are standing by me." Elsa felt ashamed. How could she be so careless and selfish, she did not know one thing about Anna besides her name and her talent as an archer? She had absolutely no inclination of her life, of her actual story, what had lead her to where she was today. Even if she had any brothers or sisters, or a sweetheart missing her.

And she had the gall to feel so comfortable and close to the girl. She didn't even_ know _her.

"It's alright," Anna said softly, and Elsa saw something flicker across her face, but it was gone so fast that she didn't have time to decipher what it was. "I took no offence. Maybe one day, I'll tell you all about it." She turned to face the frowning girl beside her, her expression one of understanding, and a slight tinge of sadness. "But right now, I think you should sleep. Trust me, sitting on a horse all day while exhausted is the worst thing you could possibly do to your body. You should rest now."

Elsa bobbed her head in agreement, still wrought with a sense of guilt but actually feeling her eyes drooping in fatigue, the warmth of the fire and Anna's soothing voice was practically lulling her to sleep. If she went back into her tent, though, the demons would come back, and she knew she wasn't strong enough to chase them away. She felt so much safer out here, next to her protector.

"Do you think..." She hesitated before finishing her sentence, then mustered her courage and calmly finished her inquiry. "Would you mind if I lay out here for a while? It's just that it's so warm out here." She didn't mention how safe Anna made her feel, but at least she didn't lie. The fire really was a nice bonus.

"Of course. I'll grab you a blanket!"

"Oh no, it's okay you don't have to-" Elsa tried to stop her but the girl was already scrambling to her feet and waving her hands at Elsa in admonition as she scurried away. Elsa sighed. Why did just have to be so likeable and kind?

Anna returned a few moments later with two blankets, one for her to wrap about herself, and one to ball up and use as a pillow. Elsa thanked her profusely, incredibly grateful for her inherent thoughtfulness. She curled up in a ball a few feet away from her and settled down in the grass, trying her best to get comfortable. It wasn't long before she was drifting off, and felt herself fading off into unconsciousness.

But just before she fell asleep, she could've sworn she heard Anna whisper under her breath, "sleep well, my beautiful queen."


	5. Battle

**A/N:** Not much Elsa and Anna interaction in this chapter, but the next few will be pretty much completely about them, have no fear! This chapter was mostly for moving the plot along and some exciting things are starting to happen that I'm super stoked to write about ... enjoy :)

* * *

The next morning, Elsa woke cleanly and did not experience one moment of grogginess as she ascended from her slumber, and the reason for this was a gut wrenching sense of panic.

_I fell asleep outside._

Her breath quickened at the realization as dread sat in a ball in her chest, and before she gathered the courage to open her eyes, she said a silent plea to herself; _please please please, don't let my powers have revealed me in the night._

She opened one eye, and splayed her fingers out tentatively against the earth next to her. It was still early, and the lighting was still significantly dim as the sun was still hidden at the edge of the sky, but she could tell that in the grass around her face was not crystallized into shards of ice, there wasn't even a thin layer of frost.

This discovery proved to be promising, and she braved opening her other eye, and slowly pushed herself up into a seated position.

She was shocked to see that in her spot next to the dying fire, which was cloaked in faint tendrils of smoke and the flames had been reduced to glowing embers that crackled softly. There was not one shred of evidence that a creature borne of ice and snow had slept right there. The grass was undisturbed, and not even so much as a speck of whiteness was on the ground.

Elsa looked down at her hands in awe, turning them this way and that to examine them. The last time she had slept through a night without being tormented by fitful nightmares was so long ago she couldn't even remember how it had felt. These instruments of her magic had betrayed her every night, sometimes escaping from her grasp to the extent that ice would coat the walls on opposite sides of the room when she awoke, and knee deep snow would be spread across the floor. The nightmare had made it impossible to control.

Had she had nightmares last night? Elsa's forehead creased as she struggled to remember - another thing that had not happened to her for quite some time. Normally she awoke in a state of horror, remembering every single moment of her vivid dreams. But now... she had to fight to recall what she had dreamed about that night. Faintly, at the back of her mind she could recollect something that was reminiscent of her usual night terrors, but its effects were blunted, dull, as if she were squinting at them through a dirty window, or she was hearing about them from someone else. Even the memory of her parents face had been blurred, the horrified expression on their faces that had haunted her for so long, warped and lackluster.

_What the _hell_ is going on? _

Just as she felt more anxious panic rising in her abdomen and she clenched her hands together, the oncoming storm momentarily subsided as she heard a small, sleepy moan breaking through the silence of the morning air.

Elsa looked up to see Anna curled up in a ball an arm's length away from her, her hands folded under her face, and her mouth slightly open as she delicately inhaled and exhaled.

She felt her heart drop as she took this in. _She slept next to me all night, and she doesn't even have a blanket._

Elsa instantly was ashamed of herself and she brought her hands to her face in her disbelief. She hadn't even thought to tell Anna that she didn't need to stay out here with her, in fact, Elsa had planned to return to her tent before morning and sleep in her own cot. She had just wanted to enjoy Anna's company for a while as she tried to calm her mind, and because of her selfishness, Anna has spent the night on the cold, hard ground without even a blanket to protect herself from the chill. Of course kind hearted, considerate Anna wouldn't have left her on her own in the open during the night. That should've been obvious to her.

_How could I be so thoughtless,_ she thought, dropping her arms limply at her sides in resignation. _I could've harmed her in her sleep, I could have accidentally frozen her skin and it would be completely my fault. I would never have been able to forgive myself. _

Trying to assuage at least some of her guilt, she grabbed her own blanket from around her shoulders, and slowly crawled towards the sleeping girl, trying her hardest to be quiet enough to not wake her. She placed the blanket over her, tucking it gently around her neck and shoulders, hoping that she hadn't been too cold during the night. Anna shifted drowsily, and Elsa noticed through her haze of self disgust, that her coppery hair was sticking out in all different directions, frizzy from sleeping on it. Elsa thought that contrasted with the peacefulness of her sleeping face, the image was so cute she almost forgot about everything for a moment.

She set her mouth in a hard line, and straightened herself up, reproving herself for thinking such a thing at such a time. She ambled back over to her spot and grabbed the blanket she'd used as a pillow and shook it out. After deciding that slipping it under Anna's head might wake her, she threw that one over her as well, and reached down to pick up her sword.

Her fingers were met with a wet, coldness, and she looked down to see that the hilt and sheath was encrusted with a thin layer of frost, that clung to the shiny silver metal like a fresh blanket of snow on the ground.

_Ah, so I didn't completely escape my powers last night then. I must've grabbed it while I was sleeping._

She strapped it to her waist, and brushed off herself off, running her hands up and down her pant legs to try to remove any dirt that might be clinging to her, as she threw one last glance at Anna, before turning away to go back to her tent.

_I don't deserve her kindness. Not one bit._

* * *

After a long, hard day of slowly plodding down the dirt path, the small party could finally see the small, squat buildings that indicated that they were nearing their first destination; a small town called Hilder that Elsa had visited as a child. She recognized it faintly as they approached, incredibly grateful to see that they were quickly advancing to its gates.

She had spent the day once again in silence, not even speaking to anyone when they had all communally gathered for breakfast, or when they stopped for a midday meal. She remained at the outskirts of their chatter, not even participating in conversation when Kristoff made an effort, plopping down next to her as she nibbled on a slightly stale piece of bread. After a few agonizing minutes of Elsa responding to him with short, one word answers, he finally slunk away dejectedly, leaving Elsa to her solitude. She spent the rest of the day overtly avoiding everyone, wishing that no one would come near her or try to instigate conversation with her.

She especially avoided Anna.

After the episode this morning, and memory of the strange thoughts she had last night that hinted at a lustful desire to caress her guard's skin still lingering in her mind, couldn't bear to look at Anna in the face, conflicting emotions causing her to advert her eyes every time she tried to speak to her. Elsa couldn't help but notice her crestfallen expression when she had greeted Elsa enthusiastically that morning, and Elsa ignored her and turned away with a blank face. Anna's apparent dismay only deepened her already monstrous guilt, but at this point there was nothing else she could do but avoid her. She was clearly a danger to someone who had pledged to protect her with her life, and there was nothing that could be justified about Elsa putting her in further danger.

She'd begun to slip. Ever so slightly, she was forgetting how important it was to conceal her emotions, to control herself, and not get too close to anyone. It was about time she remembered that.

"We'll be there within the hour Elsa," Oaken spoke to her from her right, drawing his horse up beside her and Alf. "It's time for you to act like the queen you are. You ready?"

Elsa tried to speak, but the words stuck in her throat. She felt her uneasiness rushing through her, and her hands grew colder.

_Get it together Elsa. You can do this._

When they arrived, they spent over an hour searching for the magistrate's house, and when they finally found it and told the short, middle-aged man who was balding and smelled faintly of mothballs, that Elsa wanted an audience with the townspeople, he was more than happy to oblige, and told her that he would call for a town meeting tomorrow at noon. He directed them to a nearby inn, which they found easily enough. While her party all sat down in the dining hall for a late meal, she refused the food, the thought of eating churning her nervous stomach even more, and retired to her bedroom early. She spent hours curled up in the scratchy sheets, wishing she was someone else for what wasn't the first time in her life.

* * *

_This is absolutely terrifying_, Elsa thought, as she looked out over the sea of faces that were all staring directly at her. When had she become so anxious about things like this, why had her brain turned into mush and she was no longer able to perform the queenly duties she had trained her whole life for?

The townsfolk had all gathered at noon, just as the magistrate had promised, and they all were looking at this strange, fair haired woman who stood before them, curiosity painted on all of their faces. She needed to speak. She gulped, and tried to still her shaking hands by pressing them against her stomach, taking a shaking breath before opening her mouth to speak.

"For those of you who do not know who I am," she began slowly, "I am Elsa of Arendelle. My parents were the former King and Queen of Arendelle."A collective gasp, and agitated murmuring hummed among them at her words, but Elsa didn't let it disarm her as she continued on with her speech. "I have been living in hiding for the past two years, trying to gather an army to remove Hans from the throne. Tales of his cruelty are spoken of across the land, and after he stole the crown from my family, he proved himself to be a vicious and selfish king."

She paused, knowing that what she was about to say next was crucial. "I have been gathering troops in secret for the past two years, but it's becoming apparent that it is not efficient when it comes to raising an army. While secrecy has been our priority in the past, it becoming clear that we are running out of time. Every day Hans' empire grows stronger, and he will only become more difficult to defeat if we wait. And so, I am forced to ask for your help, so that I can do my best to help defend your safety. It pains me that I have to put any of my citizens in harm's way, but there is no other way. Hans is evil, and he must be defeated. So I implore you. Please, fight with me. Join my troops and bring peace back to the kingdom."

She gestured to Oaken, who was standing near her, with his best battle face on, looking formidable and authoritative. "If you are willing to make this sacrifice, speak to my commander, Oaken, to enlist before we leave in two days. I promise you that every single person who decides to join us, will be appreciated and honoured for their bravery. I would be proud to have any one of you fighting by my side for the fate of Arendelle."

And with that she bowed her head respectfully, and turned the spotlight over to Oaken, who was suddenly bombarded with questions from the townsfolk. He was better qualified to respond to them regarding the actual details of joining the army, and Elsa was grateful that for the time being, her part was done.

* * *

"What do you want to eat Elsa? I'll go ask someone to get it for you," Kristoff said, to an unresponsive Elsa, who was twirling a strand of her platinum blonde hair in her fingertips, and staring into space with a far off look.

"Hey!" He snapped his fingers in front of her face, and bent down slightly to try and meet her vacant stare. Her eyes focused suddenly and she jumped when she noticed his close proximity.

"What?" She said flatly, letting go of her braid and resting her hand the table.

Kristoff sighed loudly. "Food. Do you want some?"

"Oh... no, thanks. I'm still not hungry."

He slumped back in his chair, shrugging nonchalantly as if it didn't matter, but Elsa couldn't ignore the way his eyes were narrowed in a mix of concern and accusation. He opened his mouth to say something else, but she raised one hand to silence him. "Hold it right there. I don't want to hear it," she all but snarled at him. Her patience was virtually non-existent at this point, which wasn't helped by the throbbing ache that was forming in her head.

"Please," she added, her tone yielding slightly when she realized how harsh she had sounded. She huffed and dropped her head into her hands.

"Sorry Kristoff, there's just so much going on in my head right now, I know that's not an excuse but..." she didn't finish her sentence, just sent him a pleading look through her splayed fingers, hoping he would be understanding.

He smiled caringly at her, and reached out to capture one of her hands in his own, and squeezed it gently. "Elsa? You know I love you, but I'm about to say something to you that you're really not going to want to hear."

She gnashed her teeth together, and eyed him in a way that she hoped expressed her wishes for him to stop talking right there. He either didn't notice or didn't care, because after a beat he continued.

"You need to lighten up."

Elsa drew back, pulling her hand away from his, and was fully prepared to fire a retort at him, but he wasn't done yet. "No, I'm serious Elsa! Look around you, everyone's having a good time, everyone's celebrating and enjoying the first good news they've had in months. I mean look at Oaken! He hasn't looked this content in months, he's so happy that he's been bombarded with recruitments for your army that he can hardly contain himself," he laughed, gesturing to the broad shouldered man who stood next to the bar, a pint glass in his hand as he waved his arm around whilst he told a group of wide eyed admirers a story, probably an embellished tale of some epic battle he'd been in. The listeners were all totally captivated, and even a few other people sitting at the bar were obviously discreetly trying to listen in on his story. Oaken sure knew how to draw an audience.

He was right, and she knew it. The crowed pub was practically bursting with unconstrained excitement, everyone talking and laughing loudly like they hadn't done it for such a long time they needed to let all out at once. A band was playing a lively tune, and a few people were even dancing, swaying their hips and tapping their feet merrily along with the music. Across the room Anna could see that Anna was dancing with Alec, twirling around him with her eyes sparkling with merriment, her mouth wide open with mirth and her hair whipping around her face as he grinned down at her. They looked like they were having such a good time, and Elsa felt a sharp pang of envy. She wished she could be out there with her.

"Do you know why they're celebrating?" Kristoff asked. "Because they have hope again. Their Queen has returned, and they have someone strong and good to lead them to restoring their country back to it's former glory. They can tell how much you love and care for your people, and they're so grateful. They're celebrating _because you're so amazing_."

He emphasized those last words, as if he was trying to drill them into her stubborn mind. He looked so determined, so confident in the magnificence of his best friend that he couldn't stand the fact that she was doubting herself so much. He just wanted her to feel good about herself.

Appreciating his effort to pull her out of her haze of discontent, she forcibly grinned at her friend, and stretched her arm across the table and patted the back of his hand. "Thanks Kristoff. You're always so good to me."

He smirked at her and shoved her shoulder affectionately. "Yeah well, don't go getting any ideas in your head. I have to be nice to you or your guard dog will rip me to shreds," he jerked his head over to Oaken, who was clearly reaching the climax of his story, both hands free to exaggerate the saga with a flourish, his listeners practically on the edges of their seats in anticipation.

"Yeah, yeah, you keep running your mouth like that and I'll be the one to do that," her arms crossing against her chest and her face setting in mock seriousness. "I'm known to be pretty skilled in hand to hand combat."

His eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Wanna bet?" he said, leaning forwards across the table, a challenge gleaming in his eyes.

Elsa didn't have time to respond with her rather witty counter-attack, because a voice interrupted them, spitting out a single word into Elsa's ear.

"_Witch_."

Elsa spun around so fast she almost fell out of her chair, her heart thumping as she sought out speaker who had spat out the accusation.

An older, faintly foul smelling man dressed in a dark clothing loomed over her. His face was half hidden by a thick black cloak that was wrapped around his shoulders, and the hood drooped over his forehead and eyes, but she could still see his nose that seemed too wide for his thin face, and his narrow lips were surrounded by the sagging of wrinkles that were beginning to form little creases in his face. Gnarled, yellowing teeth appeared as he spoke again, an accusing finger jabbing in her direction.

"You are no Queen. I will be snug in my grave before I see a wretch like you sitting on the throne."

"How dare you speak to her like that!" Kristoff bolted to his feet, and slammed a fist down on the table, rattling the empty glasses that were on it so hard that one of them rolled off and hit the floor, shattering into a million pieces in a thunderous crash, stabbing the banter in the room. Everyone grew quiet at his exclamation and the broken dinnerware, staring at the commotion that was unfolding. The music stopped playing, and the silence that followed was deafening. "You are speaking to the rightful Queen of Arendelle, know your place." Kristoff was seething, and Elsa could tell it was taking every ounce of his own self control to not reach over and shake the imposter. Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa saw Oaken slide off of his barstool and assume a defensive stance, ready to spring into action just in case this was about to turn to violence, and Anna and Alec had stopped their dance, and both of them looked alert and prepared. They all knew that it was better to overreact than to under react when it came to the safety of the Queen.

The man laughed viciously, his rancid breath billowing down over Elsa's face like a noxious cloud, and she fought the rising bile in her throat, trying to stifle the urge to cough in disgust. "You are no Queen," he hissed.

Elsa ignored the darkening of her companions faces, and raised a hand to stop them before any of them did anything rash. This was her problem, she had to deal with this on her own.

"I am sorry that you feel that way, but I truly am Elsa of Arendelle. My family's throne was stolen from them," she stated steadily, her eyes never leaving his obscured face.

"I never said that you weren't Elsa, _child_," he sneered, his lips curling in revulsion. "But if you are the Queen, where is your crown? Why are you not in the royal city, surrounded by riches and servants to do your every bidding?"

"An imposter sits on my throne, and he sucks all of the life out of this land as we speak," she was sure at this point her patience was waning, and it was evident in her voice, but the man made no indication he noticed or cared.

"A strong, capable King sits on the throne, and he will crush you," his voice reminded her of a slithering snake, as spite wound around his treacherous words and stabbed at her directly in the middle of her chest. Why was this stranger accusing her of such things; he was making her sweat and the blood was rushing to her face as she tried her hardest to stand fearlessly before him. It was getting more and more difficult with every word.

Her voice was tight when she responded after a short pause. "I assure you, I am the Queen -"

"You are _nothing_," he snarled, and pushed his hood back to expose cruel bloodshot eyes that threatened her with their gaze. "And tonight, you will die like the nothing that you are."

Her blood ran cold in her veins at his threat, and she clenched her fists, feeling ice crystals form around her fingernails as she fought the instinctive desire to defend herself and strike this foul man down to his knees.

A shout, and the sound of weapons being unsheathed make her spin around, just as a commotion began unfolding before her eyes, as screams filled the room and people frantically pushed each other out of the way to make their escape. The sight that met her eyes almost undid her control and she knew that she was mere seconds away from spraying the room with jagged shards of ice, and she immediately reached to her waist where her sword was waiting for her frenzied fingers.

On the other side of the crowded, writhing pub was a group of figures, all dressed in the same dark clothing as the foul breathed man who stood by her side, and all of them were advancing towards her with crude looking weapons drawn. Oaken was barrelling across the floor, his longsword pointed at the perpetrators, and Anna and Alec were dashing to their table where they had stashed their weapons. Bear's hulking form emerged from a dark corner, and he held a sword in one hand, a hooked dagger in the other.

_They're going to kill me._

In that moment, Elsa realized what was happening, and it took less than a second for her to wrench her weapon from its sheath, and swing it around where the blade of her accuser was waiting for her, and the metal clashed together with a resounding ring, and his snake-like face leered down at her.

Kristoff shoved her aside, and her hip painfully grazed the edge of the table as she stumbled backwards, and he replaced her blade with his own, and the two men were instantly interlocked in a fierce battle. "You have to go Elsa! Run, _now_."

"I am not leaving you," she yelled, gripping her sword so tightly her hand would probably be sore for days to come. She was ready to jump to his assistance, angry that her friend had to fight her battles for her. She didn't want this, she wanted him safe and away from danger, she wanted to make this devil bleed and beg for forgiveness for trying to hurt her companion. Plotting and entrapping them while they were enjoying some peace and quiet was so low and vile that her fury was ready to boil over and destroy anything. She wanted to let go, unleash her wrath on these traitors, show them what she could really do. She was tired of holding it in, she wanted to let it out in a flurry of ice and snow, she wanted to halt the sparring that was sending metallic claps of thunder throughout the now empty pub, with a flood of her magic. She wanted to devastate, to _destroy_.

She gasped when the oaf jabbed Kristoff on his shoulder, and cackled maliciously as Kristoff stumbled backwards, his white shirt immediately reddening.

She leapt forward, a cry on her lips and her sword raised just the way her father had taught her. The man turned his attention from his injured assailant, to the wild eyed blonde that was lunging towards him with her weapon ready to strike. He slowly raised one hand, flat palm facing her and his stance shifted as he made a motion of pushing towards her, but she hardly had time to notice, because she was running, running...

And then she was flying.

An invisible force thumped her in the middle of her chest, and she felt her feet lifting off the ground, as her face contorted into an expression of absolute confusion. She was tossed across the room like a rag doll being discarded by an angry child, and she landed heavily in the middle of a table more than ten feet away from where she had been standing, which crumbled underneath the force of impact with the resounding sound of wood splintering and crashing to the floor.

The force of her fall knocked the wind out of her, and she gasped in agony as pain spread through her body. She heaved for breath in the pile of fractured table and broken dishes, feeling multiple wounds forming all over her body where the debris cut through her clothes, as she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened.

Had that been... _magic_?

"_Elsa!_"Kristoff screamed, and she didn't have to consider the thought further, because the man was approaching her again, a menacing smirk twisting his features. Elsa scrambled to her feet, frantically searching for her sword to defend herself, which didn't seem to be in her immediate vicinity. Panicking, she searched the floor for it as she backed away from her attacker, until she was stopped when her back rammed into the wall. There was nowhere to go.

Her heart sank with dismay when she saw where her sword was; where she had been standing before she had been thrown across the room, and there was an insane assassin between her and her beloved weapon.

_This is bad. _

"Elsa!" Kristoff yelled again, and he tackled the man from behind, causing them both to end up sprawled on the floor in a heap, as both of them fought to catch their breath.

"Anna, get her out of here, now!" Oaken bellowed, not pausing in hacking at his attacker, commanding the sweaty redhead who Elsa could see had just knocked an assailant to the ground, who was clutching his stomach in pain. Anna ran up to her, sheathing her dagger as she ran, and grabbed Elsa's hand, who wrenched it away at the contact of their flesh.

"I'm not leaving," she shrieked. She couldn't, she wouldn't risk their lives so that she could get away safely. She couldn't do that.

"Elsa that is a command. Run. _Now._"

With that, Anna grabbed her arm so roughly that her fingers dug painfully into her skin, and with surprising strength she dragged the resistant girl, who fought and struggled against her grip.

_No, no, no, this can't be happening. _

She felt tears forming in her eyes as she was powerless to stop this from happening, as she was hauled towards the door, leaving behind the battleground that had minutes before been a cheery place to enjoy a meal, and was thrown out into the cool evening air. Anna was dragging her along and she didn't have the strength to resist, she just stumbled along behind her helplessly.

"Anna, we can't leave them! Please, we have to go back, we can help them," she pleaded to Anna's back, her desperation choking her voice.

"They can take care of themselves, now come _on_."

"Anna please, I can't-"

Anna stopped and spun around sharply with fierceness blazing in her eyes as she released her grip on Elsa's arm and opted for poking her roughly in the chest. "You can, because you _must._ If you are killed here, then there is no hope for anyone. You need to be kept safe, and it's my orders to do so, which I will do until my very last breath. Do you understand me Elsa? There is no other way."

Elsa bowed her head, battling back the tears that were suddenly filling her eyes and threatened to spill over onto her pale cheeks. She knew Anna was right, but she hated it so much. This was so wrong. They were fighting for her, and she was running. Why did she always finding herself running away, helpless to save the people she cared about. She hated it so much, she wanted it to stop, she wanted to not be in this position all over again, not able to do anything useful.

But she couldn't. She just couldn't.

"Hey," Anna whispered huskily, and reached out a hand to Elsa's cheek as if to lend some kind of comfort to the distraught girl. The anguish was all but drifting off of her in waves.

"Don't touch me!" Elsa yelped, and sprung backwards, her hand flying to cradle her cheek where Anna had almost touched her skin. A hurt look fell over her face, and Elsa immediately felt guilty, but was unable to explain her harshness to her. If Anna touched her now she didn't know what would happen, but she imagined that her skin probably felt like a block of ice, and she didn't want to risk her magic accidentally seeping into Anna.

"S-sorry," she stammered, one hand coming up to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear, one thin shoulder rising slightly as she stood awkwardly avoided looking at Elsa. "We have to go. Someone could come out any second, and I don't want to risk it. We have to run now."

Elsa nodded quietly, and let out a heavy breath. This was it.

Elsa bit back a slew of curses, and felt ice running through her body once again. But it really didn't look like she was going to be able to stop this, so she kept silent, and followed her protector as she took off running into the night.


	6. Warmth

Anna had never run so far, or so fast in her entire life.

They were running through trees now, and her head was so filled with getting Elsa to safety that she hardly even felt the branches that were whipping her as she flew by, hardly heard the rhythmic crunching of twigs and dry leaves crackling with every stride. All that mattered that Elsa was safe, that she got out of harm's way.

They had to stop eventually though, and when Anna finally halted and wheezed for her breath, Elsa immediately collapsed into a dishevelled heap by her feet. Her hair had fallen forward to hide her face, but Anna could still hear the panting breath that struggled to inhale as much oxygen as possible. Her hands were clutching the ground for dear life, and her back shook painfully with every breath.

"Elsa," Anna began, her voice so hoarse and quiet she wasn't sure she'd been heard. She cleared her throat and spoke again when the blonde hadn't replied for a few moments, louder this time.

"Elsa?" She crouched down, leaning back on the backs of her feet, and tentatively reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. Then she remembered the way she had reacted when she had tried to touch her earlier, and she quickly withdrew her hand, not wanting to elicit the same reaction again. She just waited quietly for her to speak.

"Yes, " Elsa said finally, her voice stifled by her arm that had come up to cradle her face.

"I'm sorry about this, but we really need to keep moving. We can't stay here long."

The other girl nodded slightly, but made no indication that she was going to move from her practically fetal position. Anna felt her heart ache for her, she had come out here trying to do the right thing, without regards for her own safety, knowing that she was doing what was best for her subjects. But her efforts were met with hostility and threats to her life. Anna was sure that must feel terrible, to be shot down when you were only thinking of others.

"Where are we going to go?" Elsa questioned as she reached a hand up to rake back her hair that had come undone in their mad dash for freedom.

Anna stood suddenly, lips pursed in apprehension. Where _were_ they going to go? They definitely couldn't go back to Hilder, and headquarters was a two day's ride away; much longer considering the fact that they hadn't had time to nab their horses in all of the commotion, so they were hopelessly stuck on foot.

Elsa was looking up at her expectantly, and Anna was frustrated to find that she actually had no answer for her. She really did not know what to do, and she wished she did.

She heaved a sigh, and straightened her bow where it was strapped to her back. "Well, we can't stay here, that's for sure. Let's keep walking."

* * *

Kristoff looked around at the devastation that surrounded him in the abandoned building; overturned chairs and broken dishes littered across the floor like the aftermath of a tornado, and kicked a detached table leg, sending it skittering across the floor.

The unexplained attack had drawn to a halt hours before, when they finally realized that they were no match for Elsa's defenders, and that the subject of their hatred had disappeared into the dark. Those of them who were uninjured and still able to run had escaped, leaving only two of their companions behind who had succumbed to their wounds. Oaken had seen to it that their injuries were tended to and they were immediately restrained; put in the strongest chains they could find. They were to be kept as prisoners in the local prison, until something could be done with them.

The main priority right now was finding Elsa and Anna.

Remembering this, he felt pain pulsing through his chest and his stomach tightened. He hoped with every bone in his body that they were okay, that the men who had escaped hadn't found them after they fled, and that no harm had come to them. Kristoff knew that Anna was more than capable of looking out for her, but he was still deeply worried.

He looked up when the door opened, and the slim stature of Alec entered the war zone. Kristoff raised a hand in a gloomy, casual greeting, and Alec returned the gesture by sighing heavily, while rubbing at the day old scruff that had taken over his face.

"Oaken is still down at the prison trying to get them to talk. So far, no luck, so we're going to have to pull out and try to find them our own soon."

Kristoff frowned at the news. "Why haven't we already left, isn't Bear supposed to be some great tracker or something? We should be out looking for them already."

Alec shook his head, and stuffed his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders almost imperceptibly. "That's the thing, there's no trail to track. He's been trying to figure it out for hours now and he can't even tell what direction they went in. There's no way of knowing."

"But how is that possible?" Kristoff exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "They can't have just disappeared, there's a trail somewhere, he just must be not looking hard enough."

Alec came over to Kristoff and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know it's upsetting, Kristoff, but getting frustrated isn't going to help Elsa, you know that. You need to be able to keep a clear head."

"Well what are we going to do if we can't even figure out which way they went? We're completely useless!"

"We go on to our next destination. Anna will know that is the best thing they could possibly do, and will expect us to meet her there. So that's what we'll do." Alec's voice was soft, as if he was talking to a frightened animal, not a seasoned fighter and experienced soldier, but Kristoff found that he really was frightened. He was scared for Arendelle and its fate if Elsa was caught and killed, but he was more scared for his best friend's life, a life that didn't deserve to be pursued by a gang of detestable murderers.

"It's just not fair," he cried out, not caring that he sounded like a petulant child. His best friend was gone and he was angry. He kicked at the debris again, feeling no satisfaction as dust flew and rubble clattered across the floor.

"Hey, what's that?" Alec said, pointing down at the floor, peering at something that was glinting in the torchlight due to Kristoff disturbing the wreckage. "Is that..."

Kristoff bent down and picked up the object in question, sliding it out from underneath a discarded cloak. "Elsa's sword," he finished, choking on her name as his throat closed up in grief.

_She'll be devastated that she lost this._

Alec reached out to caress the delicate filigree that decorated the hilt of the expertly crafted weapon. "You'd better hold on to that. Elsa's going to want it when we find her."

* * *

They walked all night without rest.

Elsa could tell that Anna was too worried about being caught to even allow a couple hours delay to replenish their strength, in case they were being followed and they needed to put as much distance between themselves and their pursuers as possible. It was getting to the point though where with every breath, she swore she could feel her brain shutting down as it begged for sleep, and with every step she took, she was completely certain it would be the last before she went tumbling to the ground. She was just about to tell Anna that she really couldn't go on a second longer, when the redhead turned around and spoke for the first time in hours, her face haggard and worn as if she hadn't slept for days.

"We're going to have to stop now, or I'm going to pass out or something, and it looks like you don't feel any better..." her eyes widened and she faltered as she began rushing through her words. "Not that you look bad, you look fine! G-Great actually, I mean you always look great, you're a very beautiful woman, sorry if that's weird to say but you do, really, but I just think-"

"Anna, Anna," Elsa interrupted, putting a hand up to stop the fumbling girl. "If I don't lay down right now, I'm going to collapse."

"Right! Right, uh... okay we just need to find somewhere at least a little bit sheltered... Oh my goodness Elsa, you're bleeding!" Anna gasped in shock and rushed forward, hands extended to examine the source of the blood that was staining Elsa's shirt, which Elsa suddenly felt; sticky and wet against her side and her stomach. She had felt it somewhat subconsciously since the scuffle, but it was only now that it had been explicitly brought to her attention that she felt agony shooting up her side. She felt her eyes widen and her hand flew to the wound, as she almost fell over from the sudden onslaught of pain.

Anna was standing beside her now, one hand hesitantly lingering at the hem of her shirt, eyes looking at Elsa compassionately. "May I?" she asked.

Elsa nodded weakly, and she lifted the corner of her shirt carefully, to examine what was underneath.

She heard Anna take in another sharp intake of air before quickly dropping the shirt and stepping backwards, her normally bright and cheery eyes serious for once, and her mouth set in a grim line.

"It looks bad Elsa. I'm going to have to bandage it to try to staunch the bleeding a bit and keep dirt out of it. Sit down, please," she commanded in an authoritative tone, and grabbed Elsa's arm as she immediately obliged, practically flopping down on to her uninjured side with a huff of pain.

"Oh Elsa, why didn't you say anything?" she asked sadly as Elsa groaned at the throbbing wound.

"Didn't... notice it so much until... now," she gasped between laboured breaths, squinting her eyes shut. "I must've been in shock or something. It must have... happened when I crashed into the table."

She was alerted by the sound of fabric ripping, and she opened her eyes and twisted her neck around to see where it was coming from. She saw Anna, who was sitting behind her in a cross legged position, pulling out fabric from a small satchel that she had hung over her shoulders, and was tearing whatever it had used to be into long shreds.

"What are you doing?" Elsa questioned, her neck tiring from the uncomfortable position.

"I'm tearing up a shirt I had in here to use for bandages," she replied distractedly, her face pinched in worry and concentration. She pulled a small flask from the bag, and poured a small amount of water onto one of the strips, letting it soak into the fabric.

"No you can't do that," Elsa blurted, moving to struggle to stop Anna from destroying her things.

_She shouldn't have to sacrifice one hair on her head, one shred of her belongings, for the likes of you._

She was stopped by a warm hand pressing down firmly on her shoulder, keeping her in place. "Elsa, would you please just let me help you?" Her voice was tinged with impatience and hurt, and the injured woman could tell that her natural benevolence was making it hard for her to deal with the stubbornness of someone who was so insistent on not letting anyone help her. The hardness in her voice was so uncharacteristic of her normal sunny disposition that Elsa snapped her mouth closed, and lay still in silence. She decided that she didn't want to upset her further.

Anna's hands began to work carefully at bandaging Elsa's side, careful to not cause any unneeded discomfort to the patient as she dressed the long and jagged gash that had pierced her smooth pale skin. Elsa could feel her hands shaking every time their flesh made contact; first when she tenderly wiped away the crimson stain away from her skin, and again when she began to tie the makeshift bandages around her. Every time they touched, Elsa shivered slightly, relishing the warmth of her soft fingertips, and couldn't help but wishing that she would spread her hands across her back and let some of her warmth seep into her skin, push some of her radiance into her bloodstream. She thought that maybe with just her hands, this girl could chase away some of the chill that had settled in her heart.

"Your hands feel so warm. It's nice," she murmured, so low that she wasn't sure Anna would hear her. She couldn't tell, because Anna kept on working silently, either lost in her task or unable to find a response, but Elsa didn't mind her silence. She had said it to herself more than anything.

It wasn't long before Elsa's side was bandaged enough that it was to Anna's satisfaction, and she pulled down the edge of her shirt until it covered the gaping expanse of her back and stomach. Elsa was about to roll onto her back to thank her, when Anna did something that made her freeze completely, every nerve ending on her body sparking to life, and the pain in her side was instantly forgotten again for the time being.

Anna gently placed one of her hands on Elsa's hip that was still exposed, not fully covered by her blood stained shirt, her warm hand curling over the soft skin there, cupped the delicate curve of her hip bone and leaned down to whisper into Elsa's ear. She was so close to her that she could feel it as her breath skirted across her neck.

"You were so brave back there. I wish you could see how fiercely beautiful you were wielding that sword like you owned the whole damn world. You were perfect." Elsa felt shivers run down her spine as she could feel the breath leave Anna's mouth with every word she said, and it danced over her skin with the strength of a thousand volts of electricity, and she fought to calm her heart down which was suddenly beating so rapidly it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.

And with that she shifted away, all thoughts of finding a safer place to rest forgotten, and just curled up in a ball of tiredness, leaving Elsa breathless, and unexpectedly, suddenly wide awake.


	7. Mordig

Hans stood with his arms folded across his chest, and stared out the window, a satisfied smirk stretched across his face. He looked over his kingdom, the magnificence of the royal seaside city, that was flanked by the majesty of the surrounding fjords. It was all his. He had conquered it, he had gathered the troops, he had been the one to work right under the King and Queen's noses as their most trusted courtier and advisor. He was the one who had convinced over half of the Arendelle's own troops to abandon their King and Queen, that they were corrupted, malicious rulers.

He had always been good at manipulating. And now he was King, just like he had always wanted.

He didn't turn when he heard a quiet knock on the door. "You may enter," he barked, and someone came into the room, closing the door softly behind them.

"Your majesty, I have troubling news from the east. A town called Hilder. I've received messages from our spies that say a woman calling herself Elsa of Arendelle passed through there, and enlisted hundreds of the city's citizens as troops in her army. Could it be her?"

Hans scoffed unkindly and turned to the squat, well dressed man who stood nervously by the ornate mahogany doors of his office. He strode over to him, and the little man squirmed and shrank backwards a few steps as Hans came over and clapped him on the shoulder, before taking his elbow and smiling down menacingly at him. "Come to the window, Howard," he said, leading him back to where he had been standing moments before.

"Yes, my King," he responded, following him obediently with tiny shuffling footsteps. Hans was slightly annoyed to find that the man reminded him of some kind of small rodent, with beady eyes that darted anxiously around the room, and his tiny little legs seemingly too short for his torso.

When they reached the window, Kristoff gestured to the view that looked over the city, the dark clouds of a rainy morning hanging over the buildings like a shadowy cloak, billowing over the sky to blanket the city in gloomy darkness. "Now, Howard. What do you see?"

Howard eyed the King apprehensively, as if he was scared this was a trick question. The silly little man was only a messenger, he had no experience in how to deal with addressing a tyrannical King, and Hans could tell how far out of his comfort zone he was, and he was enjoying every second of it. Maybe he would torment him for a while just for the sheer amusement.

"I see the kingdom of Arendelle, sire," he finally replied, his tone harbouring a question, as if he still wasn't entirely sure that was the correct answer. Hans fought the urge to smile delightfully.

_Oh this is just delicious. What a scared little fool he is._

"Incorrect, my boy," he repudiated condescendingly, as if he was talking to an ignorant child instead of a middle aged man. "You see my lands. My city, my people, my country. What you see, is the results of my power."

He veered sideways, bringing his face close to the other man's, which was met with a barely contained whimper of discomfort, and Hans grinned nastily.

"I've known of this pesky Elsa problem for some time now, and I'm not concerned. I have people working on it, and soon she will be nothing but a drop of water in the ocean that is the greatness of my regime. I assure you Howard. She won't disturb us one bit."

* * *

They'd begun walking again at midday the following afternoon, making slow progress through the wilderness, with Elsa leaning weakly against Anna the whole time, unable to fully support herself due to exhaustion and her injuries. Elsa ached sorely for a soft bed and a hot meal, but Anna was certain that the nearest city, Dreka, was at least four more days of walking away, maybe longer at the pace they were going. East, Anna said, we must continue east. That's where they had to go to because it was the place they were most likely to find the rest of their party, but every minute that dragged on Elsa was sure that she wasn't going to make it. When they found a place to rest for the night and supped on scanty rations and stale water, she was sure that she wouldn't be able to get up and keep going when the next day arrived. But she did, every step inundated with excruciating pain and fatigue, fighting off fits of delirium, as they took an unbeaten path through dense woodlands.

On the second day of walking, the rain came, and it made everything worse. Their clothes hung off of them, permanently damp even after the rain stopped, with no indication that the sun would be coming out any time soon to dry them. Elsa wasn't worried about herself, she was fine with being cold because she was always cold. But she was worried for Anna, who was clearly wretched with the miserable wetness. But there was nothing they could do but keep walking.

They had been travelling in complete silence for hours while Anna led Elsa through the rough terrain, when suddenly she stopped, head titled slightly as if she was trying to hear something.

"Did you hear that Elsa?" she asked, her voice crackling as if her throat was dry. Elsa looked up through tired, bloodshot eyes, trying to distinguish anything from the haze that had settled over her mind, focusing on the silence that surrounded them.

"No," she croaked, "what did you think you heard?"

"Shhhh," Anna said, and raised one finger to her lips, her eyebrows drawn together in concentration. Elsa sadly noticed that there was hardly any remnants of her usual glow in her features, she looked faded and worn down. However, her eyes were still attentive, as she tensed and listened, her razor sharp senses probing the air.

Suddenly she was gently pulling Elsa over to a nearby tree, and motioned for Elsa to sit down, all the while her face focused and alert. Elsa flopped down heavily, clutching at her waist and wincing when it disturbed her side, and looked at Anna with a question in her eyes and her raised eyebrows. Anna just put a finger to her lips again, and reached up, grabbing a branch of the tree, and clambering up, tossing her satchel into Elsa's lap. She scaled the branches with surprising lithe ease and gracefulness, and Elsa craned her neck to see through the leaves to see that Anna had balanced herself on a thick branch, and had strung her bow, the string drawn back as she pointed her arrow downwards, ready to fire at any moment.

_There must be trouble._

Elsa felt her heart rising in her throat, and her hands get clammy. She prayed that whatever it was, that they wouldn't find them, because Elsa was too weak to run and Anna would go down fighting before letting her get hurt, Elsa knew that. There was no way that they would get out of this alive. Elsa didn't even have her sword anymore.

Her heart panged at the memory.

_I've lost my father's sword. All I had left of him._

Tears stabbed at her eyes, and she furiously rubbed her sleeve across her face, telling herself that now wasn't the time or place to get emotional. She could mourn the loss of her treasured possession later, when it was clear that they were out of danger.

Within moments of Anna climbing to her perch and readying herself for trouble, Elsa finally heard whatever it was that Anna had been so concerned upon hearing. Horses. A group of them, it sounded like, and they were accompanied by loud, echoing discussion that took a few moments for her to decipher. She strained her ears trying to hear what was being said.

"We shouldn't half left them behind Vladimir, what if they make them talk and the whole plan goes down the drain?" a rough voice accused, paired with a grunt of frustration. Grumbles of agreement egged the owner of the voice on, and he continued. "We have to go back, there's still time to find the girl, and protect ourselves from being found out. Their trail makes no sense, we just can't follow it. You're leading us astray!" his voice pleaded angrily.

"Enough, Oleg." A gruff, commanding voice replied, and the others immediately silenced.

At the sound of this voice, Elsa's back stiffened against the bark of the tree, and her hands shook with sudden fear, her throat closing up and her pulse quickening.

_That's the man who threatened me in Hilder. _

Her right hand came up to stifle the frightened hiss that escaped her lips, she was terrified that the smallest movement, the tiniest of breaths would alert them of her location and they would find her and kill her right there. She felt panic clutch at her with its ravenous fingers, as it caressed her insides like a leech that was trying to eat her from the inside out.

_Please, please don't let them find us._

"Elsa will be ours soon enough. Do not pester me with your insubordination. I am the leader of this mission, and we have a duty to our King and master, his majesty, King Hans. We will not break our vows."

As these fading words drifted into her ear just as they were passing out of earshot, Elsa swore her heart stopped for a moment.

_Hans knows where I am._

How had he found her? Spies, most likely, Elsa guessed, but was it one of her own guards? No, they were all completely loyal to her and her cause, she had no doubt about it. Perhaps someone had been following them, or they had found their headquarters back in the cavern and had garnered information there. How could they have missed that?

Elsa's thoughts were still racing wildly when Anna finally dropped to the ground, landing in a crouched position, her eyes wide and frenzied as she rushed over to Elsa and pulled her to her feet, not needed to say it out loud that they needed to get out of there, _right now._

She stood as quickly as she could, but as soon as she was upright, two thoughts flashed through her mind.

First; _I'm going to be sick._

And the second; _No, I'm going to pass out._

She opened her mouth to warn Anna, but then the blood started rushing to her head, and a cloud of fuzziness passed over her eyes, and suddenly she was falling forwards. Anna's hands were grasping for her, but it happened so fast, and she was falling... falling.

Then she was on the ground, face first in the dirt, and her head hit something hard, just as she was vanishing into unconsciousness.

* * *

She was dreaming. Or, no... maybe she was dead. She couldn't tell, everything was so hazy and jumbled that she couldn't even tell where her feet were anymore. Or did she have feet? Was she even in her body?

There was a face above her, and it glowed like the sun for a moment, then it faded into darkness again, and then she was floating. Was she flying?

Everything was soft, she was on a cloud, she _was_ a cloud, there was no feeling, nothing holding her down. She was a tumbleweed dancing in the wind, a leaf riding a fall breeze. She was weightless.

Then there were more faces, smiling faces, too many teeth, too bright, too white; she tried to shield her eyes from their blinding radiance but she couldn't figure out how to move her arms. Had she forgotten how?

There was pain now, and redness. Everything was dry. She was in a desert, parched and hungry, searching for water, and the sun was burning her. She had never been so hot.

_I must be on fire_. The sun was to bright, too hot.

Pain again, and then she was falling.

Then, there was darkness.

* * *

Anna was curled up next to Elsa, staring down at her face, fighting back sobs. She drew her warm cloak around her and scrunched her bare feet deeper underneath the thick rug on the floor, trying to make herself stop shaking.

She wasn't cold, she was scared. Terrified really. Elsa's face was even more pale than usual, and her usual healthy complexion was darkening around her eyes, and the space between her brows was slightly creased. She looked exhausted even though she was sound asleep, and had been for what felt like days. Her cheeks were more gaunt than usual, her cheeks hollowing slightly like a sick invalid. She looked like hell, really.

Anna had been beside her the whole time, watching her face for a glimmer of life, the faint rising and falling of her chest. Every once in a while, she would think that she couldn't see her inhaling an exhaling, and she would panic, thrusting her fingers to her soft throat searching for a pulse. Then she would murmur in her sleep and shift, and Anna would breathe a sigh of relief.

When Elsa had collapsed, Anna had thought they were done for. She was sure that Elsa's state was nearing hallucination and fever, which indicated that her wound was becoming infected, and they were nowhere near civilization. She'd needed medical attention immediately, and Anna didn't know how she was going to get her to it.

But then she decided that there was no way she was giving up on Elsa. She was so strong and brave all the time, and she deserved someone who was willing to go the same distance for her as she did for others.

So she struggled and manoeuvred until the unconscious girl was straddled across her back, and she kept on walking.

Even though she was relatively light, it wasn't long before Anna had felt her strength waning. She hadn't had a square meal in days, and they had run out of water hours ago. She was fading fast, and Elsa's life depended on her.

Just when it seemed all hope was lost, it was restored when two riders intercepted them, a man and a woman with dark, curly hair and kind faces. Anna was so tired and out of breath that she had probably sounded like a madwoman as she begged and pleaded the strangers for help, inwardly praying that they weren't falling into the wrong hands.

They had proved to be generous, and had lifted Anna and Elsa onto their horses, and took off at a gallop until they arrived at their camp. Thankfully they didn't ask Anna who they were or why they were in the state they were in, because Anna wouldn't have wanted to tell them. She didn't want any more trouble, and keeping Elsa's identity secret seemed to be a good way to do that.

They lived in a small tent tribe, nomads she was told, who spent the summer months here, and they called themselves the Mordig. They lived in spacious, white tents that were draped over thick wooden poles, and the insides were carpeted comfortably with colourful rugs and blankets. They were set up in a clearing on the edge of the forest, which opened up onto a small clear lake. Young children ran barefoot in between the tents, shrieking and laughing, and adults were scattered all around the camp doing chores of different sorts. They all looked up curiously upon their arrival, clearly all wondering who the visitors were. Anna averted her eyes, not wanting to bring too much attention to them.

They were brought into a tent that contained several clean white cots, and a short, round woman rushed forward when she saw Elsa being laid down carefully on one of the beds. Her name was Bulda, and at once she began working, tearing off Elsa's filthy clothing and removing the crude bandages that were wrapped around her abdomen. She made a noise of disapproval when she saw what was underneath, shaking her head. She assured Anna that she was going to be alright, they'd caught the infection in time, but Elsa was very weak and fraught with fever. She grew fearful at these words, and vowed to stay by her side until she awoke, which she did, refusing a bed in Bulda's own tent, and the invitation to come dine with everyone. She accepted a bowl of hot stew and spiced wine, but she didn't move an inch from her spot beside Elsa. When night came, she simply curled up next to her bed and fell asleep there.

Now it was the next day, nearing night time again, and Elsa had still not completely woken up. She had been sputtering nonsense in her sleep the night before, but she hadn't opened her eyes or said anything coherent.

Anna leaned over her, and examined her face more closely. A few strands of her platinum blonde hair had fallen across her ashen forehead, obscuring her right eye and the red bump she knew was there from hitting her head off of a rock when she fell, and Anna reached out to tenderly brush it out of her face. Her face looked so calm and peaceful, more relaxed than she'd seen it since the day they'd met, the day when they had eaten in the meal hall with the other soldiers, and talked and laughed about nothing, just having a good time. She had seemed mildly troubled that day, but nothing like the way her face had become closed and resolute in the week that followed. But right now, she looked like she could break into that beautiful smile of hers at any moment, and take Anna's breath away instantly.

Quivering faintly, she reached out, and rested her fingers on the back of one fair hand, glancing up at her face to see if she stirred at the contact. No response.

She carefully picked up the limp hand, and lifted it slowly, cradling it in her own two hands, leaned her face down a bit to press it against her cheek. She felt the tears coming now, and she closed her eyes, not even trying to stop them anymore. They dripped down her cheek and made the space between Elsa's hand and her face sticky and damp and hot. She didn't care though, she just wanted to be touching her.

_Please be okay. We need you Elsa. _I _need you._

She leaned into her hand; short, gasping sobs wracking her body as the weight of the past week flooded through her. She didn't feel strong enough for this. She wasn't worthy of this task. Oaken had probably made a huge mistake trusting her with this responsibility.

A tiny moan caught her attention, and her eyes snapped open, darting to the sleeping girl. Her eyelashes were fluttering delicately and her mouth gaped open slightly as she looked around the room, groggily taking in her surroundings.

"Elsa!" Anna cried, crushing those frail fingers in her own and wiping her tears away on her sleeve, her voice sparkling with relief. "You're awake! Oh I was so worried, I'm so glad you're up... No don't sit up!" Anna pushed her back down gently into the pillow when Elsa began struggling to a sitting position. "Here, have some water." She picked up a cup she'd kept nearby, and handed it to Elsa, who grasped it thankfully and tipped it to her lips. When she finished she handed it back to Anna, and blinked at her in confusion.

"Where are we?" she questioned, her eyes flickering around the room.

"I'll explain it all later, just hold on, I'll go get Bulda. She's the one who has been taking care of you. I'll just-"

"Anna," Elsa coughed, and grabbed her hand again. Anna turned back to her, squeezing her hand lightly.

"Will you stay with me for a while? I just... I want you here for a few minutes. Please." There was something glistening in Elsa's blue eyes, but she couldn't make out what it was. Not willing to upset her, she smiled gently and settled back down in a seated position. She was surprising herself how eager she was to do anything she could to make the future Queen happy.

"Y-Yeah, Elsa, of course I'll stay. I'll be here as long as you want me to be. I promise."


	8. Moonlight Swim

**A/N:** Thanks for the nice reviews, you are all lovely :). This chapter is 100% Anna and Elsa.

* * *

Elsa was standing near the lake, flexing her fingers open and closed, and staring out at the water that was glinting in the faint glow of the moonlight. She had left the tent that her and Anna had been sharing for the past week, that had been so kindly given to them by the Mordig who were treating them like honoured guests. She had made sure that Anna's exhalations had been calm and evenly spaced in her slumber, before rolling off her cot and padding across the carpet, lifting up the tent flap to slip outside.

Now she stood by the water, upright and alert for the first time since they had been taken in by the nomads, the restlessness that came after being confined in bed rest having finally taken over. The pain in her side had receded enough that she could move without excruciating agony; in fact, with Bulda's impeccable nursing skills, she was almost certain that her side was healing much faster than it should be, and she wondered what was in that sweet smelling salve she smeared on her wound every morning. It still ached sharply when she moved the wrong way or something brushed against it, but she was much, much better. Neither her nor Anna could be more relieved, because that meant that they could most likely be on their way in another week's time.

It was now though, in the middle of the night, that she found that she truly needed time alone with her thoughts. There was so much to think about and so many obstructions in the way of her being alone. Anna had hardly left her side, even though they barely spoke because Elsa spent most of her time sleeping for the first three days of their stay; however Anna clearly saw watching over Elsa at all costs was her duty, and she was nothing if she wasn't loyal. While Elsa loved being in her company, her heart was aching with sorrow and confusion and she didn't want anyone to be a witness to it, which was why she was here, in the middle of the night, alone, dressed in only a thin white gown she had been given to sleep in.

Since everything had fallen apart and they had barely escaped with their lives, Elsa had slept in the open every night. Normally, she would have avoided this with every ounce of her strength, knowing that her gift could be shown to the world with this kind of carelessness. But ever since she had fallen asleep next to Anna by the fire and under the stars, she had awoken every time, and her magic hadn't revealed her while she slept. Her skin was cool as always, but her powers had not bled into the night around her. Even when she had been unconscious and in fits of delirium, nothing had frozen unexpectedly while she was asleep. That hadn't happened since before the last time she'd seen her parents.

She found her mind drifting back to before all of this mess had occurred, and she was a young girl living in the palace, happily with her parents. Her parents, and only her parents, had known about their daughter's strange powers that could coat anything with a thick layer of ice, or how she could coax snowflakes from the sky with the flick of a finger. Her hands were powerful tools, magical instruments that were baffling to them, but they loved her anyways. They hired her a tutor, who was rumoured to be a magician himself, and he was sworn to secrecy as he taught the young, enthusiastic child with the strange powers to control them. He taught her how to defend herself with her magic, and how to build with just her mind and the power that flowed through her fingertips. He taught her to see her magic as a gift, a glorious and wonderful gift, and not a curse.

That lesson had all but faded from her mind at this point.

That day when the palace fell, her and her parents had been in the grand dining hall, talking amiably as they dined about something so insignificant that Elsa couldn't remember for the life of her what it was. She desperately wished she could, because whatever they had been talking about then was the last conversation she'd had with her parents before terror and disaster had fallen over the palace.

The thudding that had cut her father off in the middle of his sentence, which he had reacted to with a worried look of confusion and concern, grew louder and louder with every passing second, and Elsa and her mother fell silent as well, stiffening in their chairs, knuckles white as they clutched the edges of the table.

It didn't take long for their home to be overrun with traitorous troops, all bearing the crest of Hans' family estate; two ravens in flight rampant on a red background. So much screaming. So many tears. Fear hung from every pair of lips like a noxious cigar, addictive and turned their insides into a charred mess. Their guards had surrounded them and fought hard to protect them, but there were so many of the imposters and so few of them, and it wasn't long before it began looking grim.

Elsa remembered standing, struck through and through with paralyzing fear, staring at her hands and willing herself to do something with her magic, to do anything that could possibly stop this from happening.

But nothing happened.

Or, it appeared to her at first.

What had become so second nature to her, a part of her very being, was eluding her; she couldn't do what her body seemed to be born to do. She was a creature of ice and snow, who couldn't even summon her magic when she needed it most. She had never felt so lost and alone in those moments when she realized how useless she was. She couldn't save anyone.

The rest of that day was fragmented in her memory, becoming something that only flickered at the corner of her mind in her subconscious, not concrete memories that she could dredge up on command.

Elsa preferred it that way.

The one part of that day that Elsa remembered, and would never forget, was being dragged out of the room, kicking and screaming that she couldn't leave her parents, but their horror stricken were adamant as they commanded the guard who held her in his grasp to get her out of there. _Make sure she survives_, they said, _she will save us all. _

She had wanted to shout that she couldn't save them. She wasn't strong enough, even though she wished she was.

Then she was alone, and she was running, always running, her feet barely touching the ground as she flew, trying to find some kind of exit before she was discovered. When she finally found one, she wrenched it open with surprising force, her shaking fingers making contact with the polished wood as she flung herself outside.

Into a raging snowstorm.

In the middle of _summer._

It was a storm of her own making, a storm that was out of her control, one that that mirrored the hurricane that was swirling with a wild fury inside of her, and suddenly she couldn't control it. The storm was her, and she was the storm. She had become a wild beast of the realm of ice, and there was no way to stop it. There was no way to stop _her._

Now, two years later, she had not still not been able to reforge any sense of the control she had once had over her power. Most of the time she still felt like she was that wild monster that fled from the castle in the midst of a blizzard, running towards her safety as she left the two people she loved most in this world behind. That sense of never ending panic, and grief had never subsided, the edges of it only became less sharp, and it didn't jab as closely to her heart as it did when it first formed. But it always stayed the same size, choking her and strangling her thoughts every moment of every day. She was a slave to her misery.

But now... things were changing.

Something was stirring in her cold heart. Ever since that night beside the fire she had felt the ball in her chest that was everything that she had carried with her for the past two years, shrinking, almost imperceptibly, but it was happening. Something was changing inside of her, and she didn't know what it was, but it was gnawing at her insides and tearing through all the barriers she had put up around her, to protect herself and everyone around her. She had no idea why, and it was unsettling and terrifying. But strangely, it felt good. Liberating in a sense. Despite the insanity that had taken over her life recently, she felt better than she had in years.

_I wonder... _she thought, as she raised one of her hands up in front of her, palm facing the starry sky. She could see the contours and the creases on the surface of her skin in the illumination of the pale sphere that hung above her, and she examined each one in silence, her mind mulling and turning over a foreign notion in her mind. She tried her hardest to quell the shaking that was invading her hand, and it calmed slightly under her scrutiny.

Then, she took a deep breath in, inhaling the night air until her lungs were full, and closed her eyes softly, and concentrated.

She felt that familiar tingling spreading through her palm in her fingers, that sensation of enchantment spiralling out of her like a gentle wind, and she reveled in the natural feeling of the coldness shooting through her veins. Magic was her second nature. It fit like a glove on her hand.

_Oh, I've missed that feeling._

After a few moments had passed, she slowly let out that breath that she was holding, and braced herself for whatever would come next.

She uncertainly opened her eyes slowly, and her breath hissed out between her clenched teeth when she saw what she had done.

From her hand was sprouting a thin column of whiteness. Tiny snowflakes swirled in perfect, concentric circles, as an invisible force twisted them in a sparkling pillar of glittering ice and flurries. Her own, tiny blizzard was cresting in the palm of her hand, and cool air wafted off of it and caressed her face, bathing her in her own magic, illuminating the tears that were now streaking down her face.

Suddenly she was on the ground, the magical snow disappearing, and she was weeping softly, uncontrollably into the sleeve of her gown, clutching wildly at the grass as she crouched in a contorted position as emotion rocked her thin frame.

_I'm learning to control it again._

That was the thought that ran through her mind repeatedly, piercing her and making her wail in agony every time it returned. Nothing made any sense, everything was turning into a confusing, jumbled mess and she had absolutely no idea how to stop it. She didn't understand anything. She had wanted this every second of every day for the past two years, and now her power was slowly returning to her and she couldn't make out any meaning in it. She was lost all over again.

She didn't know how long she lay there in her wretchedness, but at some point her sobbing slowed, and her tears died, sticky on her face, and she just lay there, heart pounding and breath heavy with shock.

_This is good, it's really really good, _she told herself, wiping her tears away and pushing herself up into a seated position.

A mixture of terror and happiness clenched her heart, and she felt an uncertain smile pull at the corners of her mouth, as she realized just how damn good it was.

* * *

"Elsa?"

She knew it was Anna. She'd heard her footsteps shuffling across the ground behind her and she knew that it couldn't be anyone else.

She looked up at her and smiled, patting the sandy ground beside her. She'd composed herself by now, and was sitting right next to the lake with her knees hugged tightly to her chest and her bare feet buried in the soft sand. After she'd finished writhing in a pit f her own emotions, she felt drained, and yet somewhat calm. She felt light, like a feather in the wind. She hoped that her eyes weren't still red from all the crying she'd done.

Anna plopped down beside her, and kicked off her thin slippers, and copied Elsa by engulfing her toes in the sand.

"You weren't in your bed. I figured you would be out here."

Elsa smiled peacefully. "It's just so beautiful out here," she replied, gesturing to the view around them.

"Yeah," Anna sighed happily. Then she glanced over at her, pursing her lips slightly. "Seriously, what is it with you and coming outside in the middle of the night. Don't you sleep? Or do you just have something against sleeping in tents," she teased, prodding Elsa's arm with her elbow.

Elsa chuckled in spite of herself. Why was it that no matter what her mood was, Anna always managed to put a smile on her face, just by merely existing. "No, no problems with tents," she responded, rolling her eyes playfully. "I just can't sleep sometimes."

Anna looked at her thoughtfully, a tiny grin lingering around her lips. "Yeah, me neither," she finally whispered.

Elsa bit her lip and turned back to the lake, wrapping her arms around herself and straightening out her legs. For a few minutes, they sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company and the soft lapping of the water against the sandy shore. It was if they were suspended in time for a few moments, lost in the abyss of their own thoughts. Then, Anna suddenly swung her body around, crossing her legs and clapping her hands down on her knees loudly, a mischievous glint sparkling in her brilliant eyes. Elsa eyed her curiously, one eyebrow lifted in confusion at her sudden enthusiasm.

"Tell me something about yourself," she demanded lightly.

Elsa laughed in confusion. "What?"

"Tell me something about yourself! We've spent all this time together and I feel like I hardly _know_ you, at all and I want to. I mean, if you don't mind," she flushed a little bit, Elsa noticed despite the dim lighting. "Please," she added, in only a slightly less commanding tone.

"Anna, I think you know me better than most people," she said thickly, turning away. It was true. Except for maybe Kristoff, but he'd been around for so long now, he'd known her before she closed everyone off, so she couldn't escape him.

"I find that hard to believe," Anna replied in disbelief, her fingers twining together to provide a space for her to rest her chin, her elbows on her knees. "But then again, you're so mysterious."

Elsa laughed out loud at that, shaking her head. "Oh I'm not mysterious at all. There's just nothing overly interesting to know about me."

Anna frowned of her. She wasn't having any of that nonsense from her tonight, Elsa could tell as she straightened up and narrowed her eyes at her. "You are the most interesting person I know, and I won't hear otherwise. Now tell me something about you I don't know!" she exclaimed, still playfully glaring at her underneath a veil of thick eyelashes.

_Even when she's trying to look intimidating, she's adorable._

"Fine," Elsa muttered, her face creasing intently in concentration, as Anna looked on expectantly, waiting patiently. She sighed. She really didn't want to do this.

"Okay," Elsa said at last, "you ready?" she asked, leaning close as if she was about to tell her some kind of life altering secret. Anna nodded a confirmation, her eyes wide in anticipation.

"I love... chocolate," she said softly, with a dramatic flourish, not toning down the theatrics as she backed away again, wondering how the redhead would react to the subpar confession.

Elsa was shocked when her face actually _lit up._

"Me too!" she cried happily, as if Elsa had just entrusted her with her biggest secret. "If I could eat anything in the world every day, it would be chocolate," she stated matter-of-factly.

Elsa grinned at her, and ran a hand through her disheveled hair, knocking a few strands to fall down over her forehead, and she huffed her breath to blow away the ones that obscured her vision. "Yeah, me too," she said softly, and Anna just kept on beaming at her.

_Shit. Now I feel bad._

She raised both of her hands and waved them at Anna, shaking her head as she shifted her position. "No, no. Okay. Scratch that. I'll give you a better one."

She glanced over at Anna nervously, who was still looking at her with that sweet, kind eyed excitement. Her enthusiasm really was extremely infectious, Elsa just couldn't wipe the bemused grin off of her face.

This time she leaned back on her hands, and looked up at the dark sky with the peppering of shimmering stars instead of at Anna's face. She was new to this opening up to people thing. Anna's face was making her nervous.

When she thought of something, her tone was soft in remembering as she told it to the eager young woman.

"The thing I miss doing the most from living in the palace is dancing," she told her, her voice growing fond at the memory. "I used to love when we had balls. I loved the people and all the laughter and the scents of the food and oh, the _music._ I'd be humming to myself for the rest of the night." She flopped down onto her back, still gazing up at the sky with a nostalgic smile. "I'd still be dancing as I went up stairs to my room, even though I was exhausted and my feet were sore. It just felt so amazing, like you were floating on the music. You don't even have to think after a while. You just... do it."

When she was done, she peered over at Anna, who was looking down at her contentedly. She crawled over to Elsa, and lay down on her stomach next to her, laying with her cheek against her arm as she looked at Elsa, so close to her face she could almost feel the warmth of her skin wafting off of her. Or maybe she imagined that.

"That sounds lovely," she whispered to her, and she could tell that she really meant it. "I don't know how to dance at all. Will you teach me sometime?" she asked hopefully.

Elsa met her eyes, and nodded. "Yeah, Anna. Of course."

"Great!" Anna drawled, and then that impish look was back in her smile. "Okay, now it's my turn," she proclaimed, and Elsa waited patiently for whatever she was going to say next.

Her next words almost made Elsa's heart sputter to a sudden halt.

Anna leaned over, and murmured into her ear, her cheek pressed gently against Elsa, so that she could feel every word as it rumbled out of her mouth.

"I've never swam by the moonlight with a gorgeous blonde girl named Elsa."

"What?" Elsa squeaked out, after a moment of wide eyed confusion. Then Anna was laughing and she scrambled to her feet, practically bouncing on the sand. "Come on, come on, come on," she sang, and then she was dashing towards the water, and plunged in without even slowing down or pausing before taking the leap. Elsa shot up from her reclined position to see Anna duck underneath the water, and pop up sputtering, still laughing wildly.

"Are you crazy?" Elsa hissed, as she stumbled to her feet.

"Absolutely," Anna cried jovially, waving her arms over her head, sending tiny droplets of water in an arc over her head, making tiny ripples in the smooth glassy surface of the water. "Now get your _ass _in here before I come and drag you in," she shouted and leaned her head back under the surface, soaking that fiery hair in the liquid moonlight. Elsa's pulse was so fast she thought she might pass out again for the second time in a week.

She pinched her arm and shook herself. "Anna, no way," she said firmly.

"Yes, way," Anna exclaimed, rising from the water into a standing position, and Elsa's breath caught in her throat at the sight. Anna was wearing a gown almost identical to her own; thin, white, and now that it was wet it clung to all the curved contours of her body, which was highlighted by the silvery gleam that was shining over her. Her hips, her legs, her waist...

Her hair had come loose when she had dived underneath the surface, and it hung down her back and over her shoulders like a waterfall. A few soaking wet strands had come to flop down to frame her face, and Elsa was sure she'd never seen anyone look so ravishing in her entire existence.

_Whoa._

"Please," she implored, in a pleading tone.

Elsa gulped. _Calm down Elsa, it's not a big deal. _

She groaned loudly to try and hide the fact that her pale face was probably beet red by now, and grudgingly picked her way across the sand to the edge of the water.

Unlike Anna, who had dashed in like an over excited puppy, she stopped where the water was softly caressing the shoreline, taking a deep breath before tentatively dipping one toe into the cool water.

"Just _get in_," Anna called out to her and Elsa shot her a look. Anna shrugged and kept on grinning at her like a cheshire cat as she bobbed up and down in the water.

Elsa squinted her eyes shut and clenched her fists into balls against her side.

_Okay Elsa, just get in the water. _

Then she was in, up to her knees, then her waist, and then she sank into the coolness, feeling it rushing over her shoulder blades, her eyes still squeezed shut as she paddled gently over to Anna. When she opened her eyes, Anna's laughing face was right in front of her.

"Very good," she approved. "But now you have to get your hair wet. Doesn't count unless you do."

"Anna..."

"Nope!" she cut her off with a wave of her hand. "You have to do it."

Elsa glared at her, only half playfully. "I'm not doing it."

That was the wrong thing to say, she soon realized.

A challenge lit up in Anna's eyes; there was a quick flurry of movement and suddenly Elsa had a mouthful of water, as it rushed over her head and streamed down into her eyes and soaked into her thick hair. It crashed over her like a wave as it trickled down her neck and got whatever part of her that had remained dry moments before, utterly wet. She just stood there gasping for a long time, before she shoved her sopping wet bangs back over her forehead and stared in disbelief at the girl who was holding back shrieks of laughter by biting her lip. One hand was tucking soggy strands of hair behind her ear as she stared back at her sheepishly, only a little bit of guilt on her face.

"I can't believe you did that," Elsa said quietly, and Anna just stared back at her intently waiting to see what Elsa would do.

A second later they were locked in a full out war.

They were both laughing as they flicked water at each other, tossing handful after handful at the other girl, ducking their heads under water and coming up sputtering and leaping back into action right away. Elsa worried for half a second if their shouts could be heard from the camp, and wondered if maybe they should stop, but then Anna sent a particularly large splash her way, and the thought was completely forgotten. Limbs tangled and skin touched as they battled for no particular reason other than that they could.

Eventually, they both grew tired and a unspoken truce passed between them, as they fought to catch their breath between their bouts of laughter.

They both froze when they realized how they were standing.

Just before they had stopped, Anna had been in the middle of pouncing on Elsa to try and get the best vantage point to thoroughly dunk the older girl's head in the water, when they had both called off the altercation. The result was that Anna had halted with her arms flung over Elsa's shoulders, and her legs were wrapped loosely around her thin waist, her feet crossed snugly at the small of her back. Elsa suddenly felt Anna's chest moving up and down against hers, her heaving breathing pronouncing every rise and fall. Their hearts pounded against each others, Elsa's racing, with nervousness or excitement or just from their intense activity, she couldn't tell. She just knew that Anna's warm, soft body was pressed against every curve of her own skin, and every nerve ending was prickling and tingling with sensation.

Anna was the first one to speak.

"Am I hurting your side?" she asked softly against Elsa's neck.

"No," Elsa assured her.

_I'm never going to feel pain again._

_Why does this feel so right?_

At her words Anna tightened her hold around Elsa's neck, leaning into the bend that was where the column of her neck and the firmness of her shoulder met, her cheek lightly relaxing on Elsa's cool skin.

Elsa's breath hitched again, and her heart thudded.

_I can't believe this is happening._

If Elsa had thought about it, she wouldn't have done what she did next, and she was entirely grateful that logical thought had flown from her mind at this point, replaced by complete and utter bliss.

She slowly raised her arms from where they lay lax against her side, and let them glide through the water as they made their way to Anna's waist. Once her fingers finally found the delicate fabric that hung around her hips, she smoothed her hands over the softness, and carefully slid her palms across her back, until her fingertips met, and she entwined her fingers together. She clasped her hands tightly, and gently pulled Anna tighter against her own torso, reveling in the connection of their closeness.

At this movement, Anna let out a quiet, contented moan in Elsa's ear, and burrowed herself into the crook of her neck, her legs firmly grasping those shapely hips. Elsa felt something stirring inside of her as she pressed her nose into Anna's damp hair, and breathed in deeply.

_She's so warm._

Elsa didn't know how long they stood there, clinging to each other in complete silence, but she knew it felt like forever and she never wanted it to end. This was contentment. This was what it felt like to have every inch of her skin numbed with a sensation that couldn't be described, it had to be felt. She wanted to melt into her arms, and never let go.

"I'm so glad I met you Elsa," Anna whispered, sending shivers pleasantly up Elsa's spine.

A soft smile that Anna couldn't see turned up the corners of her lips, and she clutched at the other girl gently. "Me too, Anna. So, so glad."


	9. Swordplay

"Ouch!" Elsa whimpered, instinctively shifting away from the cause of the pain.

Bulda swatted at her gently."Honey you have to keep still. Goodness knows what you were up to that you messed yourself up this much all over again, is beyond me, so you'll just have to sit still while I put you back together!"

Elsa groaned and buried her face in the blankets, trying to ignore the pain that was shooting up her side. Even though she had told Anna that their roughhousing in the lake the night before hadn't harmed her side, as soon as Anna had released her hold on her and sloshed out of the water, she had felt the irritation sparking in her flesh again as she lurched after her. She hadn't told Anna because she knew it would make her feel awful, but now she was certainly paying the price as Bulda worked her on repairing the damage that had been done to her sore injuries.

_It was still worth it though._

Her heart still raced every time she thought about how close Anna had been to her the night before, and how hot her skin was against her own. It felt like a gentle fire dancing across her skin.

Elsa hissed loudly in pain when Bulda did something especially jarring, and her whole body flinched. "Elsa, keep still!" she scolded, her eternal patience not breaking as she reprimanded her.

"Sorry Bulda," she muttered, burying her face in her arm, wishing that this could be over.

Bulda swatted at her again. "Why are you apologizing to me you fool, you're the one who ends up in more pain the more you mess me up," she chuckled.

Elsa permitted a small smile at that. She really liked this woman, who had dedicated her whole life to healing. She had gentle eyes and even gentler hands, and a cloud of thick black curls she wore down around her shoulders, which framed her face nicely and seemed to accent the darkness of her eyes, which were creased at the edges from years of laughing merrily. She made Elsa feel like she was at home; there was this kind of warmth that wafted off of her that made her think of comfort. She would be sorry when they had to leave her.

"There," she said, wiping her hands on a rag. "All done, now you can go find that red haired friend of yours."

"Thank you Bulda," she said as she creaked to her feet, mindful not to aggravate her wound. When she stood she was at least a good foot taller than Bulda, who was now glaring up at her worriedly.

"Now you rest properly and don't go messin' around, because if I have to re-do any of those stitches again I am not going to be so gentle," she threatened, only half seriously as her eyes still betrayed her kindness. She shooed Elsa out of the medical tent, and Elsa thanked her again before escaping outside.

It was a bright day, the sun high in the sky at midday, and the whole little village was up and bustling, people crowded in clusters at every corner. Everyone she passed greeted her with a friendly smile, which she returned happily as she searched for Anna.

_Anna. _

Her pulse quickened instantly at the thought of her name, and Elsa wanted to kick herself.

_What is going on with you, you're acting crazy._

But Anna made her feel crazy. When they woke up that morning Elsa could hardly contain herself as she looked across the room to see Anna's sleeping face illuminated by the mid morning sun, her hair set afire by the daunting rays. Her pale, freckled skin was practically glowing, and even as she slept a soft smile was lingering on her lips, as if she was cheerful even in her dreams. She was radiant even in her sleep, and Elsa had found herself staring for longer than acceptable before she noticed the pain cramping her side, and realizing that this was the best time to sneak off to see Bulda before Anna could find out that their tryst the night before had most likely torn some of Bulda's well crafted stitches.

Thinking of it now, Elsa's hand went to her side where Bulda's skilled hands had been working moments before and become conscious of the fact that the pain had already began to subside somewhat, even though she had left the tent only a mere few minutes ago.

_Thats strange, _she frowned, gently fingering the wound through the fabric of her tunic. _What could possibly be in that salve she uses._

It was more than that though, Elsa thought suddenly. Her wounds were recovering far too quickly; the gash she had sustained from the brawl had been nasty and potentially life threatening, and yet she was already walking around as if she had been in bed for months. It hardly made any sense.

_I wonder..._

"Elsa!"

Her train of thought was cut off when she looked up and saw Anna in the distance, waving at her wildly. "Come quickly, I want to show you something!"

Then of course, all was forgotten except for Anna, as she picked up speed to see what she wanted.

* * *

Kristoff stood in the middle of the barn, his sword clenched tightly in his hand and his breath coming out in short, heavy gasps. His sword arm was tired, and a layer of sweat coated his forehead from the physical activity. The few lanterns that were lit in there cast a kind of eerie light over him and the golden hay that coated the ground, and it made the shadows dance as he fenced with them, fighting imagined foes on his own in the dark.

When they had arrived in Dreka, a bustling city thrice the size of Hilder, they had been met with the lack of vacancies in every inn they tried, until finally one innkeeper said that they could sleep in the barn for a few nights, as long as they didn't mind the horses being in there too. They were all so tired at that point that they wouldn't have refused a spot on his front lawn if he had offered it, and they gratefully accepted. After dealing with their mounts and stashing their belongings in one of the stalls, the other three had taken off in search of food and drink; while Kristoff declined, stating that he was not hungry, but really he just wanted to be alone. He had eaten a small portion of rations to curb his hunger, and had began to thrash furiously at the air with his sword.

In a way, he was practicing; keeping his strength up and his skills sharp and quick. Another part of him was blowing of steam. Anger at them still not having found Elsa and Anna was suffocating him, and this seemed to be the only way to get the toxicity out of him. Every inch of his body was trembling with frustration, as he lunged and parried with his fictitious enemies.

He paused his relentless assaults, when he heard the barn door creak open, and he turned around to see who had come inside, his sword raised and his feet set in a defensive stance, but he dropped it as soon as he saw who it was.

"Oh, it's just you Alec," he sighed. "I thought you were off with the others looking for something to eat."

"Yes well, I changed my mind," Alec said, stepping forward into the soft lighting of the room. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted some company, but now I see that perhaps you wanted to be alone," he gestured to Kristoff, who still had his sword gripped in his hand.

Kristoff just shrugged noncommittally. Alec's presence wasn't exactly unwanted, but he also wasn't overly thrilled at being interrupted.

"I can leave if you want," he continued, his voice gruff.

"No, no," Kristoff sighed, not wanting to be rude. Alec seemed nice enough and he didn't want to offend him in a silly tantrum. Being angry and vicious wouldn't change their situation in the slightest. He huffed again and moved backwards until the backs of his legs hit the hay bale that was there waiting for him, and he sat down.

Alec cross the room and patted Kristoff on the back in a friendly gesture. "You know we'll find her right? Oaken told Anna to get her out of there because he knew she was the best out of all of us. She'll get her through anything."

Kristoff nodded appreciatively and gave him an unconvinced half smile. Alec shoved his shoulder lightly. "I'm serious! And worrying about it isn't going to make it better so you should lighten up, okay?"

Kristoff offered him another tight smile, and Alec seemed to accept it, seeming to know that it was the best he was going to get. He drew his own sword from its sheath, and swung it into the air, and it sparkled menacingly in the flickering light.

"Care for a sparring partner?" he asked.

Kristoff ruffled his hair and slouched backwards, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know Alec," he slurred. "I'm kind of worn out now."

"Oh come on," he goaded, lightly dancing on his toes as he tossed his blade from hand to hand. "It'll make you feel better, I promise."

Kristoff scoffed. "I doubt it."

Alec stepped forward, and tamely knocked his sword against Kristoff's, which was hanging limply from his hand, with a metallic clang. "Just give it a shot?" he cajoled, peering down at him.

Kristoff just stared back at him apprehensively for a few moments before sighing and rising to his feet. "Fine," he consented, and raised his sword.

Alec was the one to make the first move, lunging for a relatively easy shot at his right shoulder, which he deflected easily with a perfectly executed parry. Then the battle was on; with the two young men charging and pouncing at each other as the sidestepped fatal blows and swung their swords, each time they met the barn rang with the sounds.

After a few minutes, Kristoff really was feeling better. The energy that was fueling his frustration was channeled into every attack he made, and he refused it entry back into his mind every time he blocked one of Alec's blows. Soon he hardly noticed anything besides the sounds of their blades crashing, and his lightness as he skirted out of the way of each swing.

They fought hard, both of them exerting waves of energy that rippled through the still air, and they filled the evening silence with the sounds of their laboured breathing and the scuffling of their feet. The moves became mechanic, like they always did for Kristoff. After years of practicing, it was almost like the fighting became an extension of his arm, and his body took over for a while. It was liberating, in a way.

It wasn't long before he got the advantage, feinting a lunge at Alec's stomach, and swinging around to knock Alec's feet out from under him when he fell for it, collapsing into a heaving lump on the floor, his sword clattering on the floor as he raised his hands in defeat, shaking his head at the sweating blonde that hovered over him with his blade pointed straight at him.

"I yield! I yield," he laughed, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "That was a nice move," he commended Kristoff, who was sheathing his weapon and wiping the film of perspiration that had gathered on his forehead.

"Thanks," he responded, offering a hand to the dark haired man, who accepted it with a smile as Kristoff pulled him to his feet. "You weren't so bad yourself."

He shrugged bashfully, shaking his head vehemently. "No way. I definitely didn't have a chance against you. Clearly archery is my thing, not swordplay."

Kristoff smirked, stretching his arms over his head and glancing over at him shrewdly out of the corner of his eye. "You're just saying that because when you came in here I was fighting with no one and I probably looked like I was about to murder someone," he said accusingly.

That earned him another hearty laugh. "Maybe," he said truthfully. "And maybe not. I can't really convince you either way, it's up to you to believe me."

Kristoff felt himself frowning slightly at the other man. They'd hardly spent any time together before now, why was he being so nice to him?

Not one for holding in his curiosity, he just asked him.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he said abruptly, his voice rough as he fixed him with a confused stare.

Alec shrugged again. "Because we're comrades," he declared. Kristoff was clearly not satisfied at this answer, and his frown deepened.

After a moment he coughed, and continued. "And also because you really just seemed like you needed someone to be nice to you right now," he said softly, compassion apparent in his voice.

"Ah," he replied. He wasn't sure whether to feel annoyed at the pity or grateful for the kindness. Considering he had just beaten him thoroughly in their mock battle, he went for the second one, and sent him a kind smile. "I appreciate that."

Alec smiled back. "Great, now let's go find something to eat, please? I lied when I came in here, I'm actually so hungry," he groaned, clutching at his stomach dramatically.

Kristoff shook his head and chuckled in amusement. "Yeah. Okay, let's go find Oaken and Bear."

* * *

"Aren't they just the cutest things you've ever seen?" Anna squealed in Elsa's ear, practically bouncing up and down in excitement, before flopping down to the ground to wrap her tiny hands around the waist of a furry ball of energy.

Elsa smiled at her affectionately before lowering herself down beside her and responding in agreement. "They are pretty adorable," she said, reaching out a hand to one of the little creatures, which ran its little tongue across her palm, making her giggle at the tickling sensation.

"Oh they're just wonderful," Anna gushed, clutching the puppy to her chest and grinning wildly in excitement.

" They're a shit ton of work is what they are," a voice growled behind them, and Elsa looked over her shoulder to see the bored looking youth who stood there leaning against the gate of the enclosure where they kept the tiny huskies. He tipped his hat over his eyes and glared at the little creatures with annoyance. "You're not the one who has to take care of them," he said.

"I don't care one bit," Anna proclaimed. "They're too precious to be a burden."

Elsa almost felt herself agreeing with her as she looked around at the shuddering mass that was a litter of six prancing around in juvenile excitement. They all had gorgeous little pointed faces and attentive black eyes, and they all swarmed around them like the two young women were the most interesting thing in the world, pawing at their knees, demanding attention immediately. Both of them were happy to oblige, scratching under their chins and rubbing their fur while murmuring to them affectionately.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Elsa noticed a little bundle of black and white that was curled up by itself in the grass, underneath a makeshift shelter, two little dark eyes peering out from the mass of fur at her with intense eyes.

"Hey," she said, turning to the young man. "What's wrong with that one? " she asked, pointing in its direction. "Why is it alone?"

The boy scoffed rudely and jerked his head in its direction. "Because he likes to be, I reckon. None of the others like him and it tries to bite anyone who comes near it. No one wants him around. Probably have to get rid of him."

Elsa frowned at this, strangely annoyed at his words as she turned back to the lonely creature. His eyes were still staring back at her, and she almost thought for a moment that she saw something in his eyes that she could recognize. Something that made her feel the need to try and interact with it.

She got up suddenly, and started to slowly creep over to where the animal lay in solitude, ignoring a warning from the irritating youth, and Anna asking her what she was doing. She wasn't concerned with anything else right now, her attention was completely on this little dog. She slowly reached one hand out to the dog, her fingers spread tentatively for him to sniff her as she approached carefully, trying her hardest not to startle him.

He raised his head when she stopped a few feet in front of him, and she sank down into a seated position, one hand still outstretched to the dog, which was now looking at her with curious eyes, as if he was wondering what this stranger was doing near him. For a long, agonizing few moments, nothing happened. Then, he stood up and began slowly ambling over to her, with steps as tentative as Elsa's had been a few moments before.

"It's gonna bite you," said the kid, and Elsa fought the urge to hug Anna when she hushed him sharply, which shut him up. Elsa's attention was completely on that little dog with the familiar eyes, as it stumbled on his little puppy legs towards her.

He paused for a moment when he was just an inch from her hand, as if he was unsure of what to do next, and Elsa just sat completely still, waiting for him to come to her.

Then he was whimpering softly, a throaty wine coming from his throat as he butted his little head against her hand and her palm was suddenly damp with the onslaught of his curious tongue. She was giggling at his enthusiasm, as he was suddenly filled with energy, nipping playfully at her hand and letting out miniscule barks. She could hear Anna laughing behind her, and the boy murmur, "would you look at that," under his breath, which Elsa only half noticed.

When the puppy got tired of her hand, he stumbled over to her foot, and, still whimpering, he clambered up her shin and made his way into her lap, where he curled up in the same little ball as before, snuggling into the fabric of Elsa's trousers. She rested one hand lightly on his head, smoothing down the tufts of fur that stuck out at odd angles.

Elsa felt Anna's hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to her smiling face. "I think he likes you," she said quietly, glancing down at the sleeping dog.

Elsa smiled back, still smoothing its fur with her fingers. "Yeah. I think so too."

* * *

"You should take him with you!" Anna exclaimed as they walked away, heading back to their tent to wash up before the afternoon meal. "That kid said you could have him."

Elsa raised an eyebrow at the overzealous girl, and gave her a look. "We can't take a dog with us."

"Are you kidding?" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in that dramatic way she always did. "It would be a perfect guard dog for you, and it's still small enough that I could carry it for you while we make our way to Dreka. It's not that far now."

Elsa laughed softly, "I don't think..."

"Plus, your face _totally _lit up when he crawled into your lap. It was so sweet and adorable, I could hardly stand it," she interrupted, rambling on as if she hadn't even noticed that Elsa had started speaking.

Elsa felt a blush creeping up her cheeks when she heard the words, _sweet_ and _adorable; _the blood rushing to her face as she felt shy bashfulness hit her like a wave.

_She just called you adorable._

_No, Elsa. She called the dog adorable, not you._

She shook herself and tilted her head away from Anna while she waited for the redness in her face to subside.

"I'll think about it, maybe," Elsa sputtered, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Good," Anna all but shouted, and reached over to yank on Elsa's arm to get her to stop her brisk walk.

Elsa turned to look at her, a question in her eyes, and a pale pink still staining her fair cheeks.

"Because I like seeing you happy," Anna finished, not breaking eye contact with Elsa, who suddenly felt the urge to hide her face in her hands before the blood flooded her cheeks again.

Then Anna perched on her toes, and leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on Elsa's cheek. Elsa froze in shock, as Anna's breath caressed her cheek for no longer than a second, but still lingered even after she pulled away and grinned at her happily, before reaching out to grab the other girl's hand, laughing as she tugged her in the direction they had been headed.

Elsa found then that she didn't need to worry about blushing that time, because now every single drop of blood had drained from her face, and was rushing swiftly to her racing heart.


	10. Firelight

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay on this one, exams and such. More to come soon!

* * *

Hans was walking down the twisting staircase, one hand trailing lightly along the railing. His other hand hung limply at his side, his fingers drumming a consistent beat against his upper thigh as he made his way down. His face was set in a contemptuous smirk, his eyes glinting with barely controlled rage.

When he reached the bottom, he was standing in front of a set of grayish doors, made of harsh materials that were only used here in the basement of the castle. A guard stood beside them, and when he saw Hans approaching, he bowed deeply before pulling the door open for him.

"Your majesty," he said reverently.

Hans completely ignored him, and strode through the door into the dim, dank room that was on the other side, his footsteps echoing in the emptiness of the gray room. A well dressed man in the red and black uniform of Arendelle's new military stood there and he also bowed when the young King came into view.

After a moment he straightened, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword at his hip, his face expressionless. "You majesty, here they are," he said raising a hand to point to the corner of the room, where three shrouded figures huddled, all of their faces hidden, so that they appeared to be just lumps on the cold stone floor. Hans clenched his fists instinctively before setting his face in a relatively kind expression before stepping forwards towards the silhouettes of the hunched men.

They all looked up when he approached, their eyes widening in their gaunt faces as they realized who it was. They all immediately began to scramble to their feet, but Hans waved one hand dismissively, crouching down to lean against the backs of his heels. "No need to stand gentlemen. I can see that you are all very tired."

They looked at him fearfully, all of them with anxiety visible in the eyes that peered out at him from underneath black hooded cloaks. Chains were clamped around their wrists and ankles, and their fingers and toes were both coated in a layer of filth, that stained their nails and mottled their skin.

"I just want to ask you a few questions, would that be alright?" he asked gently, bringing up a hand to rest on his chin as he looked at them quizzically.

They all nodded silently, the fear not dissipating from their eyes one bit.

_They're like mice in the face of a beast._

Hans cleared his throat before he continued.

"As you probably know, I searched high and low for people like you. The fabled magicians, the ones who could take care of my little problem quite easily. The sorcerers with the power to create wind. How clever. When I found you, you all assured me that you could get the job done. Is that not correct?" he asked.

They all nodded again silently.

He smiled at them. "Good, then we are all on the same page. Now, could you please explain something to me?"

Then, in an instant, his expression turned feral and he leapt forward, grasping the chin of the man closest to him, digging his fingertips into his skin as he yanked his face forward. His smile turned menacing, furious.

"Why have only three of you been returned to me, and with the girl still alive? Hmm? I told you to kill Elsa, at all costs."

"We are so sorry your majesty, we tried our best, I assure you!" the man sputtered, his lips trembling with fear at the close proximity of the furious King. "She was surrounded by guards and then she escaped and we couldn't find her..."

"Ahhh!" he yelled, throwing the man's head away where it smacked against the wall with a hollow _crack. _He sprung to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at the man who was now crumbled on the ground, clutching his head and grimacing in pain. "You wretched fools. Wretched,_ useless_ vermin!" he screamed, spittle flying out of his mouth and his lips contorting with rage. "This was supposed to be a little problem that was dealt with easily, with no fuss, and now I've got a real problem on my hands. And now that... that _bitch_ has gone and gathered more of _my _citizens for an army."

He was practically growling, pacing back and forth in front of the three of them, his hands clenched behind his back as his anger burned inside of him.

Quickly, he turned on his heel and spun around to face the soldier who was still standing there. "Dispose of them," he said flatly, which was met with wails of anguish behind him that he didn't pay any attention to. "And alert my General to gather up a fleet of troops to leave at first light. It appears we have some traitors to deal with in the city of Hilder."

The soldier bowed, and Hans made his way to the door.

When he was standing beneath the door frame, he turned back to the three prisoners with a malicious leer. "You know what? I'm almost glad that you are all such miserable failures, because now I have found someone worthy of this task. I have flame at my command now, and a beast that will do this properly the first time around. It's a shame you won't be around to see it."

* * *

"Emmett, please sit still, you're disturbing our guests," Bulda said to her squirming five year old, who was currently tumbling into Anna's lap, shrieking in delight when she caught him in her arms and tossed him up in the air, catching him again, both of them smiling widely.

"I don't mind," Anna laughed, setting the child on his feet again, and he immediately ran off to get himself into more mischief. "He's adorable."

"Yes, well," Bulda said fondly nudging Elsa who was sitting beside her. "You can take him if you want," she said with a wink, which made both Elsa and Anna chuckle.

They were sitting around a smoking fire, all of them wrapped in warm blankets as they huddled close to the flickering flames, trying to shield themselves from the cool evening air. Bellies full, and warmth spreading through their bodies, there was a sense of comfort emanating from each of them as they chatted idly, lost in the sensation of companionship.

Anna was sitting next to Elsa, her head resting gently against Elsa's shoulder, her eyes flickering open and closed in drowsiness. Elsa noticed for the millionth time as she glanced down at her just how long her eyelashes were. She was absent-mindedly poking at the fire with a stick, a habit that Elsa noticed she often did when they were sitting next to a fire. The blaze flared up and sparked wildly at her touch. She seemed mesmerized by it.

"I know I've said this many times already, but I just want to express my gratitude for your kindness for taking us in," Elsa said to Bulda.

Bulda snorted and shook her head at no one in particular. "Elsa you don't need to keep saying that. In fact, if you say it again, I might just turn you out before you're better!"

Elsa smiled softly, and her eyes were downcast. "Sorry," she apologized quietly.

"Oh hush child, you know that I'd never do that to you. Besides, I would be a fool to kick the future Queen of Arendelle out of my home."

At her words, Elsa and Anna both whipped around to stare at her wide eyed with shock, their mouths gaping open in surprise. Bulda immediately burst into laughter when she saw their faces, her face scrunched in merriment.

"B-But..." Elsa stuttered, trying to gather herself. "How could you have possibly known that?" she demanded, disbelief colouring her voice. Anna was sputtering beside her, not even able to formulate coherent sentences.

Bulda looked at them sarcastically, her eyebrows raised as if to indicate that they were both incredibly foolish. "Oh come on, you two. Did you really think the rumours wouldn't travel? When we sent the messenger to Dreka to tell your companions that you weren't dead in the woods somewhere, the whole town was abuzz with talk of the fair haired queen who had shown up in Hilder and had barely escaped with her life after she was attacked. It wasn't too hard to put the pieces together."

She looked up and took in the expressions on their faces, both of them panicked as they stared back at her. Elsa felt her throat squeezing shut in panic, and she was sure her face was drained of all colour.

_This could be very bad. _

Bulda frowned, leaned over and patted Elsa's shoulder. "You don't have to worry about anything, Elsa. I promise," she assured her softly.

Elsa nodded and let out a sigh after examining her for a few moments with narrowed eyes. Even though she hardly knew Bulda she felt that she could trust her. It still didn't hurt to be cautious, with murderers tracking her down as they spoke.

Elsa glanced over at Anna, whose face was lost in thought, her eyebrows drawn together. Her head was tilted slightly to the side, one of her long braids draped over her shoulder, the other hanging idly in midair over her chest. By the light of the fire each strand of her hair was alight, emanating a shimmering glow like a halo around her face. She was twirling that stick around in her hands, and Elsa suddenly noticed that her fair fingers were directly on the part of the stick that was still glowing from being stuck in the fire's embers...

"Anna!" Elsa screeched, flinging herself forward and knocking the branch from her hands. Anna looked up at her in shock at her outburst, and stared at Elsa with wide, questioning eyes, who was now clutching her hands with an expression of panic written across her face. Elsa felt her magic tingling in her fingertips, and she bit her lip to hold it back, even though she yearned to cool Anna's warm skin, to chase away any ailments that had come from the heat of the fire.

_Control it Elsa, it would only make things worse. _

"You could have burned yourself," she ground out through gritted teeth, twisting Anna's hands this way and that, concerned eyes searching for evidence of a burn.

"I-It's okay Elsa," Anna said, snatching her hands away from Elsa and folding them in her lap. "It must've not touched me where it was hot, o-or maybe it wasn't touching my skin long enough to burn me... I don't know! But I'm fine," she exclaimed, twisting her hands where they rested in her lap. "Really, I'm fine Elsa, please don't worry about it," she murmured looking down at her hands and her shoulders hunched forward.

Elsa frowned at her, several thoughts rushing through her head as she stared at Anna, who suddenly looked nervous as she avoided Elsa's gaze.

She opened her mouth to respond to her, remarks like,_ there's no way that wasn't touching your skin for long enough_, and _it was definitely hot and touching you skin,_ all lingering on the tip of her tongue when a cough behind her made her turn.

"Are you sure you're alright Anna?" came Bulda's voice, concerned and tinged with a sort of parental worry.

"Yes, I'm fine," Anna replied softly.

Elsa watched her every movement, the way her breath left her mouth and her chest lifted and fell almost imperceptibly, the way her skin seemed to shimmer in the wavering luminosity of the fire, and light up each of those freckles individually as they spread across her cheeks like a map of the stars.

Elsa found herself thinking that she wouldn't mind staring at her face for forever if she had to.

Bulda was looking at the two of them quizzically, her kind face creased in curiosity. "Hmmm..." she muttered under her breath. "Say... Have the two of you heard of the story of Arabelle?"

"Yes!" both of the young women responded at the same time, and looked at each other as the words spilled out of their mouths.

A long pause followed this as they all looked into the fire, all of them lost in their own thoughts as they watched the flames dance around. Elsa felt herself clinging to her elbows, swirling around in the midst of her thoughts as they plagued her mind. It felt strange to her that this woman would mention her favourite childhood tale out of nowhere.

"I used to read it all the time as a child," Elsa responded finally, still eying Anna out of the corner of her eye, who was still anxiously staring down at her hands in her lap. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh it just came into my mind," she responded flippantly, waving off her question. "No reason. For some reason it just came into my mind how the legend of the young women who follow her goes."

"And how does that go?" Elsa asked, the curiosity emanating from her voice. She didn't remember anyone coming after the reign of Arabelle, that was all she could remember of the favourite story she held dear to her heart from her childhood.

Bulda smiled at her and leaned back on her hands, her shawl falling loosely around her as she thought.

"All I can remember is that once every generation, a chosen one was given the ability to control the fire and flame that the dragon possessed," she said with a sigh, smoothing her hands over her knees and shrugging at the other two. "Sorry, it just came into my mind suddenly."

Then she was standing, shaking her shawl out in front of her and clearing her throat. "I should go see to it that Emmett made it into his bed," she said, laying a hand on each of their shoulders and smiling down at them gently. "Good night."

They mumbled farewells to her in return as she receded into the darkness, and Anna and Elsa were left in silence. Side by side, and yet both of them lost in their own thoughts. Elsa was thinking about her old days in her palace, when she would spend hours and hours on end in her sitting room devouring books about grand adventures and dashing heroes, when Anna spoke and broke her train of thought.

"I'm sure that we can trust her Elsa," Anna assured her quietly.

Elsa nodded at her and pursed her lips slightly before answering. "Yes, I'm sure we can. I'm not worried."

"Good," Anna replied.

They were silent for a few moments again after this, drowning in the quiet crackling of the fire and the soft trilling of insects serenading the night air. Soft lamplight lit the darkness around them like fireflies, accompanied by the soft voices of adults speaking in hushed tones, trying their hardest to not speak loud enough to wake the children who were already sleeping. Elsa felt a kind of peaceful calm wash over her as they sat silently, each of them enjoying the taste of the smoky night air and each other's company.

This time, it was Elsa who interrupted their tranquility.

"Do you have any siblings Anna?" she asked, the question brought to her mind as she recalled the gentle way she had laughingly handled Emmett's antics moments before.

Something passed over Anna's face that Elsa couldn't decipher before it disappeared, then she answered her in a soft voice.

"No, I'm an only child," she responded quietly, not looking at Elsa as she spoke.

"What about your parents? Where are they?"

Anna laughed quietly, a darkness creeping into the usually lilting sound that poured from her lips. "They're far away."

"Far away?" Elsa asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"It means that they're far away," she murmured, and after a pause she nudged Elsa with her knee and smiled over at her cheerily, chasing any darkness out of her eyes that was there moments before. "It doesn't matter though. I'd much rather be sitting here with you. Hell, I'd even rather be running from the forest from assassins beside you."

Elsa's laughed tightly, mostly out of obligation, and she glanced over at Anna curiously, wondering what it could be that she suddenly seemed to not want to talk about. Anna wasn't normally one to close herself off from people.

_Don't push it Elsa,_ she admonished herself and pressed her lips together, quelling her questions in her throat.

"We should probably be heading to bed as well," Anna finally said quietly, her eyes drifting over to the blonde who was sitting so near to her. "You must be tired."

Elsa smiled softly, her fingers relaxing against her thighs as she rose slowly to her feet. "I am," she declared, looking down at Anna.

A tiny smile twitched at the corner of Anna's lips for a moment, before she reached one hand up to Elsa, indicating that she wanted her to help her to her feet. After a short pause, Elsa realized that was what she wanted, and she shook herself, lifting her hand from where it was resting at her side and sliding her palm against Anna's. Their grip tightened, and Anna bit her lip as she looked up at Elsa through those long eyelashes and Elsa's heart trembled for a moment at the sight, and she felt a shiver of ... _something_... run up her spine. Her body felt like it was tingling all of a sudden, and she suddenly had the urge to run her hands over the smooth expanse of pale skin at the other girl's neck, to press her fingertips to that full lip that was being assaulted as the result of what Elsa perceived to be nervousness...

She coughed suddenly, stopping her train of thought and breathed in sharply. Ignoring the inquiring look on Anna's face, she pulled the redhead to her feet, who was parting her lips to say something as she was hauled upright.

She didn't manage to get to whatever she was about to say because as she was making the journey from sitting to standing, her foot caught on a rock, and her body twisted as she was flung forwards, her hand that was clasped in Elsa's yanking out of its grip. In a moment that seemed to move so slowly Elsa was almost sure the passing of time had shifted, Anna was falling, her expression altering to one of astonishment.

"Anna!" Elsa gasped, her arms extending to catch her and then there was a tangling of limbs, flesh on flesh and chest pressed against chest, as Anna was suddenly clutched tightly against her in the circle of Elsa's arms.

Elsa could feel Anna's heart pounding against her own, the rush of blood to that organ causing each thump to reverberate against her own beating heart. Whether it was at the shock of her fall or from their close proximity, Elsa felt every beat of her heart vibrating through her body, and every part of her skin was alive with sensation, as she held Anna close while she tried to regain her balance.

Anna looked up at her, their faces so close Elsa could see the tiny crease that adorned the corner of her eye as she blinked rapidly, and the light flush that was spreading across her cheeks with rosy magnificence. She was so close that she felt her breath tickling against her neck each time she exhaled.

"Thank you," she breathed, her fingers buried in the fabric of Elsa's tunic as she peered up at her.

Elsa fought to reign in her heart palpitations.

_Keep it together Elsa._

"You're welcome," she whispered, her eyes locked on Anna's.

They stood there frozen for a few moments longer, with each of them staring at the other for reasons they couldn't articulate into rational thoughts, but Elsa felt herself unable to tear her eyes away from Anna's, and she had an inclination that Anna was feeling the same way. They just stood there, drowning in each other's gaze.

It was Anna who moved first, her eyes flicking away from Elsa's eyes for a moment to rest on her pinkish lips, and moving back to rest on Elsa's azure gaze. She leaned in slightly, her neck arching upwards as she tilted her face upwards towards Elsa. Elsa felt her mind cloud with confusion for a moment, a fog cloaking her thoughts as she looked down in confusion at the other girl, whose face was inching closer and closer to her own.

When Anna's eyes began to close, and her lips parted ever so slightly. She took in a sharp intake of breath through her nose, and her arms tightened where they still rested around Anna's waist.

_Is she going to..._

All thoughts flew from her mind when softness pressed against her mouth, and Anna's hands moved to press themselves against her neck, pulling her close and holding her tightly against her. Warmth spread though all of Elsa's body, each nerve ending jumped with sensation and her lips tingled with the gentleness of the other girl's kiss.

_She's kissing me._

With this sudden realization, the fog dissipated, and she felt a throaty growl rise up inside of her and tore from her mouth as she breathed in everything that was Anna. Suddenly filled with a strange sense of desperation, her hands clutched at Anna's back, and she pressed her own body even closer against hers, her lips moving slightly in reciprocation.

A low moan rumbled in Anna's chest at the response, and Elsa felt her heart lurch at the sound, then her hands were everywhere; on Anna's back, her waist, twisting in her hair, her palms running up and down her spine and smoothing themselves against the soft fabric, feeling the heat of her skin seeping through the cloth.

Lips crashed together, mouths sought greedily for release as they melted into each other, both of them bursting with desire. Breath mixed as Elsa relished every caress of Anna's lips against her own, the way her tongue was suddenly gently probing against the delicate skin on the inside of her mouth. Her thoughts were filled with Anna, everything was Anna right then. Nothing else mattered but Anna's flesh against her own.

Then the spell that had befallen them was broken when Anna jerked suddenly and wrenched herself out of Elsa's arms, leaving her gasping and lips still tingling with the desire for the taste of her skin.

Elsa opened her eyes to see Anna standing an arms length away from her, eyes wide and her mouth gaping open as she mumbled out incoherent syllables, stuttering over each sound like it was a rocky terrain.

"Anna," Elsa questioned softly, one hand reaching out to her, and Anna took another step backwards, her face reddening as she shook her head wildly at the confused girl who was staring at her.

"I'm s-sorry, " she stammered, one hand reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear that had come loose in their embrace.

Elsa was about to speak, to ask what she could possibly be sorry for when Anna spoke again.

"No! No, you don't have to say anything, I'm just really sorry," she gushed, the words flying out of her mouth so quickly they meshed together in a slur. "I'm going to go to bed now," she stated abruptly. "Good night."

And then she was gone, her back suddenly facing Elsa as she scurried away into the darkness in the direction of her tent, the sound of her scuffling footsteps ringing in the air, leaving Elsa behind in a pool of confusion and unquenched lust.


	11. Magic

Dreams plagued her sleep that night, and she tossed and turned as she tried to shake the images from her mind that suffocated her and grasped at her with their ghostly fingers.

She was used to dreams, but these weren't like the ones she usually had. She wasn't scared, like she normally was, or angry. Instead she just felt anxious, like something was behind her and she could sense it by a prickling in her neck.

And she was cold. The coldness wasn't new, but it was stronger than ever.

She was in a empty field, snow falling around her delicately, fluttering around her and landing on the bare skin of her arms and her face. Snow, whiteness for as far as her eyes could see. Blankness. There was no sound, not even her breathing, even though she could see puffs of her own breath floating away from her face with every exhalation. The silence was deafening, as if there had never been any sound before in the history of the universe, and it clawed at her ear drums as she ached for any sound to tear her away from this sense of isolation.

Then everything was bright, so bright that she screamed silently and clapped her hands to her eyes, crumpling to the ground and feeling the soft coldness of the snow clinging to her. The brightness wouldn't go away, there was fiery blazing light burning at the backs of her eyes and illuminating the darkness she should have seen with her eyes closed. Hot, so bright. Searing.

The snow was turning to water around her, melting in the heat, which permeated her coldness and seeped into her flesh, into her bones.

Then the silence was torn away in a blast, and a roaring filled her ears. It began as a low rumble, and then it was engulfing her, pouring into her ears and rattling inside of her brain. There was a voice. Now she was scared. A voice that wove itself into the air around her, pricking at her skin, pulling at her hair.

"You will fail," it hissed.

_Wake up, wake up, wake up._

She was so hot, she was on fire.

"Worthless."

_Wake up!_

Something grabbed her from behind, yanking her backwards and she screamed, the sound echoing around her and mixing with the relentless roaring like a wretched song.

Then she awoke, springing upwards, her eyes flying open and panted into the darkness of the night. Her hands clutched wildly at the blankets around her to throw them off of her, she was too hot.

She kicked until she was free of the unwanted fabric, her breath still coming out in heaving gasps that she tried to calm to no avail.

She buried her face in her palms, her breath hot against her hands as she heaved, trying to calm her scrambled thoughts and trembling.

She glanced over in the dimness of the sleeping quarters, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness that was only augmented by the pale moonlight that filtered in slightly. She could see Anna not too far away from her, fast asleep, her fiery hair cast in disarray around her sleeping face. Her mouth was slightly open, and her features were completely relaxed in her slumber.

Suddenly she remembered their passionate embrace earlier that evening, the way that Anna's body had curved so perfectly against her own, the softness of her lips. She had been lost in the contact of their bodies, intoxicated by her taste, her scent. She could've gone on kissing her for forever. Elsa had never wanted someone so much in her entire life.

Unexpectedly she felt like the walls were pressing in on her; the heat from their kiss and her dream boiling inside of her and she felt the need to get out of there, to walk around in the cool night air.

She stumbled to her feet shakily, and as quietly as possible she made her way across the carpet and slipped her feet into a pair of shoes before lifting the tent flap and slipping outside.

It was quiet outside in the night air, but not the kind of haunting silence that had been in her dream not long before. Instead there was the low hum of night creatures that filled the air, which comforted her almost as much as the coolness that caressed her skin. She had never felt this _hot_ before. The coldness that usually resided at her core was splintering and was being replaced with this strange heat.

She picked her way through the pathway that ran through the long line of tents on either side, hardly noticing how fast she was gliding across the grass, she just needed to keep moving, since it felt like her insides were threatening to jump out of her skin at any moment.

Not paying attention to where her feet were leading her, she found herself breaking away from the cluster of tents into the open, approaching the shoreline of the lake where a few nights before her and Anna had shared that tender moment. It was illuminated by the moon like it had been that night, yet this time she didn't have the comfort of that vivacious redhead at her side.

"Elsa!"

The voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she spun around. A few feet away, the plump healer was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, eyeing Elsa accusingly. "What are you doing up in the middle of the night. You're not better yet, you still need your rest."

Elsa felt herself shirking back under her stare. "Sorry, I know. I just... I had a dream..." Her voice cracked on the last word and she trailed off when she realized that she couldn't stop her voice from trembling if she tried. Suddenly she was cold again, so cold. She pressed one hand to her mouth and wrapped the other arm around her waist, digging her fingers into her ribcage.

At the sudden break in her composure, Bulda's expression softened and she stepped closer to Elsa, resting one hand gently on her shoulder, compassion clouding her eyes. "Hey, it's alright Elsa," she said comfortingly, resting her hand on Elsa's shoulder gently.

Elsa choked on a sob that welled in her throat, emotion crashing over her. It hardly registered through the haze of feelings that was rushing through her that Bulda had taken her arm gently and was leading her to a fallen log and was pushing her into a seated position. She sat down next to her and wrapped one arm snugly around her shoulder, pulling her into her comforting embrace.

Elsa fought to control the tears that were blurring her vision, to stop the irrational sobbing that was shuddering through her body, her hands covering her face, even though there was no way to hide her condition. Bulda just sat beside her silently, letting her cry in peace, only offering her quiet reassurance.

Finally Elsa felt the emotion that was bubbling inside of her subside slightly, and she scrubbed at her tear stained face with her sleeve, and took a deep shaking breath in.

_Calm down. You're being a fool._

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," she said in a low voice, not daring to look over at Bulda next to her.

"Well I think if I had to guess, darlin', you had a nasty dream, and maybe you'll feel better if you told me about it," she proposed in return.

"It's fine," Elsa answered firmly, straightening herself and closing her face off. She'd lost control there, and she had to try her best to regain her footing.

"I haven't known you for very long, but I think it's safe to say that you're most certainly not fine," Bulda countermanded, a scolding tone colouring her voice. Elsa peeked over at her and saw that her face was drawn with worry, staring back at Elsa with a question lingering in her eyes.

Elsa sighed and pressed her hands to her knees and toyed with the fabric of her nightgown, restlessly flexing her fingers. She racked her brain for away to relieve some of the concern that was radiating off of the older woman.

"I hardly remember it," she began, blatantly lying. She remembered every second of it. "It just made me feel so... confused. And empty."

"You're not giving me much to go on dear."

After a long pause, she continued. "It reminded me of how scared I feel sometimes," she said, a glimmer of honesty breaking through her mask.

"And what are you scared of?" Bulda asked softly.

Elsa thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to articulate it in words. She had never spoken to anyone about this before, but somehow Bulda's presence was comforting her immensely, and she wanted to talk. She was suddenly so tired of keeping it to herself, of putting on a brave face and pretending there wasn't a storm raging inside of her all the time. She felt like she was ready to explode, to break out of her skin and finally crawl out of this cage that she had managed to construct for herself. Bulda's kindness was goading this new feeling, and she found her lips moving before she even consciously thought about it.

"I'm scared of letting people down. I'm scared I can't protect my people," she breathed, her face crumpling. This time no tears came to her eyes, she just continued in a strangled voice. "I don't want to fail again," she finished, remembering that haunting voice from her dream.

Bulda didn't speak for a while, the only sound was of Elsa's laboured breathing ringing through the air. She just kept her arm tight around Elsa's shoulder and sat quietly.

"Can I tell you something," she finally asked, when Elsa had seemed to calm down some. She didn't answer her, she just nodded slightly, her eyes trained upon the ground.

"I think being so scared of failing will make you fall apart. I haven't known you long, but you're stronger than that, I'm sure of it."

Elsa made a sound of indignation. "I'm not, Bulda. Truly," she choked.

"Yes, you are," she admonished. "And even if you weren't, you have a lot of people depending on you. You have to find it in yourself to be strong in order to give yourself your best chance of succeeding."

She stood up and moved in front of Elsa, crouching down before her and taking both of her hands in her own and staring up at her. "Maybe you need to stop trying to hide who you really are."

Elsa frowned at her, creases forming in her forehead as she responded. "What could I be hiding?"

Bulda leaned in closer and an intense expression bore into Elsa. When she answered, her voice was soft and tentative, but filled with a kind of urgency.

"You need to stop hiding your magic."

It took a few moments for these words to fully register in Elsa's mind, she just froze and her face closed over in a blank expression as she gawked down at the dark haired woman.

Then she was standing, knocking Bulda's hands away and panic coursing through her body like poison. She blanched, her teeth boring so hard into her lip she was sure they would leave indents. She backed away slowly, stopping only when the trunk of a tree stopped her and she stood, completely frozen, eyes wide as she stared at the person who had suddenly become a threat to her.

Bulda had raised her hands in front of her, as if to indicate her innocence and that she had no intention of causing her harm, trying to calm the distraught girl with just her gaze.

"What are you talking about," Elsa hissed through clenched teeth, trying her hardest to reign in her mounting terror.

_I've tried so hard to hide it, how could she have found out? _

She felt the urge to run off into the night fill her. She wanted to get away from here, from the knowledge that someone knew her secret.

"You don't have to hide it from me Elsa," Bulda soothed. "I'm not going to tell anyone if you don't want me to."

"But... _how,_" she demanded, clenching her shaking hands into fists.

Bulda lowered her hands, and sighed, running one of her hands through her curls and sitting back down on the log, her face turned to look out at the glinting water. A strange expression crossed her face, her face contorted as she sat silently. She was quiet for so long that Elsa thought that maybe she had forgotten that she was there.

When she spoke, her voice was filled with a kind of sadness that Elsa felt she knew, deep down, just from the tone of her voice.

"Because I have magic too."

_"What?" _Elsa croaked incredulously, her expression shifting from one of horror to one of shock.

Bulda laughed quietly, and glanced over at Elsa. "I've gotten pretty good at noticing other people who have power. Did you really think your side healed as quickly as it did without something helping it?"

Elsa's fingers flew to her side, where the pain of her wound had all but faded into a dull ache when she moved the wrong way. It was true, the damaged flesh had repaired itself remarkably fast, and she had noticed it, but she had brushed it off whenever it came to her mind, disregarding it as not important. Not once had the possibility of magic entered her mind.

"So," she began slowly, the words forming on her tongue hesitantly before they left her lips. "You have healing magic?"

Bulda nodded, a smile flickering across her face for a moment. "Yes. I've had it since I was a child."

Elsa let out a long breath in disbelief. She hadn't met another person with any power since her magic tutor from her childhood, who was especially gifted at drawing sprouts from the ground and cultivating the best gardens anyone had ever seen. Not very powerful, but magic nonetheless.

"I could have healed your wound instantly, but I knew that would have been foolish of me. There are people who are not so kind to people who practice magic, and I had to be careful."

No answer. Elsa was too wrapped up in her own thoughts, confusion tumbling around in her mind as she tried to absorb what Bulda was saying to her. She hadn't been able to speak of this for so long, and the opportunity suddenly presenting itself was sending her into fits of bewilderment.

"What can you do, Elsa?" Bulda asked, piercing the chaos in her mind.

She cleared her throat and made her way over to Bulda, gathering her courage. An impulse was rushing through her, an ache to show someone the thing that she had kept hidden inside of her for so long. Also, she was sure that there was no getting out of this now. Bulda knew.

She sat next to her, and looked straight at her, eyes narrowed and lips set into a straight line.

"Do you swear that this will stay between us?"

Bulda nodded fervently, and Elsa searched her eyes, finding only an indisputable authenticity there. She felt that she had no choice but to trust her.

Summoning any ounce of bravery she had, she slowly lifted one hand, which shook slightly in the soft moonlight that shone over them. She inhaled deeply, telling her heart to calm down, for her body to stop trembling. She pressed her eyes shut, and called upon that iciness that always rested deep in her core, drawing it out through her veins, feeling it travelling through her as it made its way to her waiting hand. Magic swelled in her fingertips, and a familiar coolness spread over her hand.

When she opened her eyes, a block of solid eyes was sitting in her upturned palm, glistening with enchantment. She let out a breath she hadn't realized that she was holding, and took the ice in between her hands, turning it over in her hands. She glanced up to see Bulda staring at the result of her magic with a quizzical expression. She reached out to touch it with one finger, as if she wasn't sure if her eyes were deceiving her or not. Lightly running her fingers over the ice, she seemed reassured more by her touch than by her sight.

"That's just marvellous," she marvelled, her fingers lingering.

In an instant it had disappeared into thin air, when Elsa withdrew the magic, shaking her head. "It's not, really."

Bulda frowned at her. "Of course it is honey. You should be proud, and I am almost positive that you are a thousand times more powerful than that just demonstrated."

"It's never done anything good for me in the past," Elsa countered, her voice sharp. She instantly regretted her impulsiveness and wished she could take the display back. No good could come out of her magic.

Bulda reached for her hands again, gripping them tightly as Elsa averted her eyes. She fought the urge to yank her hands away and run again. She didn't want anyone near her right now. She felt weak, and so vulnerable. It was as if someone had torn her apart and her soul was standing stark naked for all to see.

"Your magic is a_ gift_ Elsa. Don't you dare think otherwise."

* * *

"Kristoff!" a voice called from behind him, making him pause mid stride to turn to see the speaker. His face broke into a smile when he saw who it was.

"Hi Alec," he greeted him, clapping a hand on his shoulder when the out of breath man drew up beside him.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as he grinned up at him, falling in sync with his footsteps.

Kristoff shrugged. "Uh, sure. I'm not really going anywhere, I was just getting tired of being cooped up in that barn."

"Me too, stretching our legs will definitely pass the time," he agreed.

They were walking side by side down the busy streets of Dreka, keeping to the side of the cobblestoned street to avoid being trampled by the bustling masses of people and horses that muddled the street. The sounds of loud chatter and the clicking of horses hooves rang all around them as they walked leisurely together.

"It's a pretty town, isn't it?" Alec remarked, gesturing to the scene around them.

Kristoff nodded amiably. "Yeah, it is," he replied, not unkindly but clearly not willing to offer much more to the conversation. Alec just accepted the stunted response with an understanding look. From the little time that they had known each other, Kristoff was sure that he had been more curt with him than his personality normally permitted. To be fair though, there was a lot more to be stressed about right now. Even though the messenger who had found them and given them the news that Elsa and Anna, were in fact, alive and well and just waiting for Elsa's wounds to heal before meeting them in the city, he was still on edge. He was certain that he wouldn't feel at ease until he saw Elsa in the flesh, and was assured that she really was in one piece. He'd wanted to go to her immediately, but Oaken had stopped him, telling him that they should be discreetly trying to find additions for the army while Elsa was safely miles away. So he'd stayed, begrudgingly, only because he didn't want to disobey orders. Elsa would not approve if he had. He had not been one bit happy about it, though.

They walked in silence for a while, just enjoying the fresh air and the midday sun on their backs.

Though they weren't speaking, there was something about walking with him that made Kristoff feel extremely comfortable. There was just something about his presence that put him at ease, as if he were an old friend from long ago whose companionship had never faded away.

It was Kristoff who finally broke the silence between them.

"Has Oaken said what we're going to do once Elsa and Anna get here?" he asked.

Alec frowned as he responded. "No, not a word. But my guess is that we'll be heading straight to the Southern Isles, with no detours. We can't really afford to do this the slow way any more."

"But what is the likelihood that they'll help us anyway?" Kristoff replied wryly, pulling a face. The Southern Isles were not exactly known for their loyalty to Arendelle. "It could be a dead end."

"Who knows," Alec said, a verbalized shrug in his voice. "We don't really have much of a choice."

"Yeah," Kristoff agreed softly. They really didn't.

"Hey, look at that!" Alec cried, stopping and jabbing Kristoff in his side, pointing across the street. "A Drekan armoury! They say that here in Dreka they make the best armour in all of Arendelle."

Kristoff chuckled, nudging him back good naturedly. "Yeah and what makes it so great?"

"Well," he said in a mock whisper, leaning in as if he was telling a secret. "Some say that they infuse the armour with dragon scales. Toughest material there is."

Kristoff set his face in feigned seriousness. "Really? Maybe we should stop in and get them to make some custom fitted armour for two of the Queen's finest guards."

Alec laughed loudly at that, and rolled his eyes dramatically. "Yeah, like you can afford that. May I remind you that she's not Queen yet, and therefore we're not really earning much of a living."

"Yes, it's a hard life," he sighed laughingly, pushing his hands into his pockets and beginning to walk again.

"Maybe we should ask for a raise," Alec mused, stroking his chin as he pretended to ponder this.

"Certainly, I'll be sure to ask her as soon as she gets here," Kristoff scoffed.

Alec opened his mouth to say something, but didn't get a chance to articulate his next thought, because a commotion not too far ahead of them on the road caught both of their attention. People were milling around, seeming to crowd around something that was hidden by the throngs of people. All of them had panicked faces, and they were all talking loudly in astonishment, distinguishable words lost in the buzz of the uproar. They both sped up, plunging themselves into the thicket of bodies, finding themselves pressed in the heat of the crowd. Voices shouted in their ears, and they were pushed about as they fought their way through to find the cause of all the fuss.

When they broke through the ring of townsfolk, they were met with a sight that they hadn't been expecting.

Two people, a young man and a child, were huddled on the ground, cowering away from the loudness of the crowd that had gathered around them. They looked absolutely wretched, both of them filthy with tangled and matted hair, their clothes ragged and burned. Both of them had multiple wounds on their bodies, some of them appeared to be burns, their skin mottled with ailments.

Their faces were haggard and coated with grime, and blood was caked on the child's face, Kristoff noticed as he and Alec both dropped to their knees in front of them. Their vacant eyes peered out of their fatigued faces at the two soldiers who now knelt before them.

"What happened to you?" Alec demanded softly, pulling out a square of cloth from his jacket and reaching out with one hand to give the man his handkerchief. He stared at it for a few moments as if he had no idea what to do with it. Finally, he extended one arm and took the cloth delicately with shaking fingers, and wrapped his hand around it with a thankful expression.

"Hilder. It was..." he rasped, pausing to scrub at his face, only managing to remove a fraction of the dirt that stained his skin. Kristoff guessed that underneath all that mess, he was probably about his own age, but his state made him appear at first glance to be ten years his senior.

_What could have possibly happened to these poor souls?_

"Burned," he finally finished, looking up at them imploringly, reaching out to pull the child against his side. "Hans... he sent his troops. They said we were traitors..." he trailed off, tears suddenly streaking down his dirty cheeks, making trails on his skin.

Kristoff and Alec looked at each other sharply, not needing words to understand that they both knew what had happened and why. They didn't need to speak to know the waves of fear and anger that emanated from both of them.

Hans had attacked Hilder because they had sided with Elsa.

"He's sending us a message," Alec whispered fearfully, the panic clear in his gentle brown eyes.

Kristoff looked back to the two victims of Hans' wrath, terrified and injured. Kristoff wished that he could comfort them, tell them that they were safe now. But he wasn't sure they were. For all he knew, they were all in very real, immediate danger.

"I know," he murmured. "He's coming."


	12. Arrival

**A/N:** The plot is really starting to pick up now... hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

Anna hopped over a tree root that had obscured her path in one long stride, her pace not slowing for a moment. She fought her way skillfully through the ragged terrain, carefully avoiding anything that threatened to trip her. It was early morning, the dew still clung to the foliage around her, coating everything in a glistening wetness. The gentle rays of dawn filtered in through the leaves and branches above her, making tiny flecks of light on the ground around her, and birds chirped softly from the treetops, filling the air around them their delicate song. It was all very peaceful, a scene that ought to make anyone feel calm and tranquil. Anna loved early mornings like this, and after a full night's rest, she was happy to be on the road again in the fresh air.

She turned around at the sound of a tiny yelp accompanied by a hushed muttering, and the scuffling of uneven footsteps behind her. Elsa trudged along a few yards back, her hair pulled back in a mass of a blonde halo, her bright and alert face peering down at the ground as she walked. Beside her a little mass of gray and white bounded, sticking its shiny black nose in various objects as it scurried along. Elsa grinned down at the puppy, affection shining in her face. She paused and reached down to grasp the squirming animal when it spent too long on a particular patch of dirt, setting it down to hurry off on its way again.

Anna turned around with a grin, shaking her head. When they had been readying themselves to leave earlier that morning, they had been saying goodbye to Bulda when a hand had tapped Elsa on her shoulder, belonging to the abrasive young man whom they had encountered by the enclosure with the litter of puppies.

"Listen, are you going to take the dog with you when you go?" he asked impatiently, scratching at his head furiously.

Elsa was quick to shake her head, and if there hadn't been an awkward distance between them at the time, Anna would have argued with her, but ever since the disastrous ending to their kiss the other night, they had hardly spoken to each other. It was mainly due to the fact that Anna had been avoiding her, but it still felt strange to her to initiate a conversation. But thankfully Bulda interjected before she could give an answer. "Now hold on, Elsa. I've seen you sneak off to see that creature every time you get a chance. Why won't you take it?"

Elsa toyed with a loose string on her tunic as she answered, and Anna had wished that she could reach over and curl her own hand over hers, entwine their fingers together to still their restless activity. "I don't think I can take care of it," Elsa explained.

"Nonsense!" Bulda proclaimed, and with that the matter was settled, and she sent the boy off to fetch the dog for her. Goodbyes were said, thanks were given, and then they were on their way, with another member joining their company as they commenced their journey. Anna couldn't help but notice Elsa's face light up in a tentative grin when she took the bundle of fur from the boy's arms, the way her eyes sparkled down at it with affection. It was clear she adored it already. Anna was glad to see her looking so content

The silence between them now was suffocating Anna though, the choked awkwardness surrounding them made her tense every time she came close to her. Anna mainly felt guilty for the way she had behaved, and wished she could apologize, tell her that nothing in her entire life had ever felt as good as kissing her. But she was concerned that if she spoke to her, she would have to explain herself. She didn't want to have to explain, because she wasn't sure how Elsa would react. She needed time to think about how to handle the situation.

So until she found a way to explain to Elsa why she had behaved so insanely when she had been enjoying their embrace so much, they would have to both remain cloaked in silence, neither of them knowing what the other was thinking, but wondering notheless.

* * *

"Elsa!" a voice yelled, and suddenly her face was buried in a muscular chest, strong arms wrapped around her and her feet were lifting of the ground. "I was so worried you idiot."

"Put me down, Kristoff!" she scolded, pushing away from him after reciprocating his hug enthusiastically. She was deposited on her feet heavily, where she landed as gracefully as she could manage, and straightened out her disheveled clothing, grinning up at her ecstatic best friend.

"No need. I was in very capable hands," she assured him, jerking her head towards Anna who was standing a few feet away from them. They were standing by the side of a road, where only a few people milled around them, as evening dusk fell over them, having just arrived in the city of Dreka. Anna was leaning against a stone wall, and when the attention turned to her she gave a cheery smile and a tiny wave.

Kristoff went over to her and instead of hugging her as he had done to Elsa, he placed one hand on her shoulder and looked at her dead on. "Thank you Anna. We all owe you immensely."

Anna flushed and waved a hand, indicating that it wasn't a big deal. "Oh it was nothing, I was just doing my job."

"Yes, and very well!" he exclaimed. "You managed to get her back in one piece."

"Excuse me," Elsa interrupted, placing one hand on her hip and glaring at Kristoff through narrowed eyes. "You're acting as if I was completely helpless! I'm capable of taking care of myself, you know."

Kristoff rolled his eyes, and gave Anna a pained look that made her giggle behind her hand. "If you say so, Your Majesty," he said with mock valour.

At his words, both of them sobered, and it seemed that both of them instantaneously remembered the situation they were in, the reason they were greeting each other after being separated for so long. Elsa's face clouded over, and frown lines creased in her forehead as her expression grew serious.

"I suppose we have things to talk about."

"Yes," Kristoff sighed, his shoulders dropping slightly. "Come on. There is much to discuss."

* * *

"Are you sure we should abandon the mission? We might be being too hasty," Elsa countermanded dubiously, to Oaken who sat opposite her on a hay bale. She was scratching the space between her puppy's ears absentmindedly, who was lost to the world in dreamland as his new owner wrestled with mounting discomfort. Surely he wasn't really suggesting that they turn away from their task already.

"Hasty?" he inquired, his brows springing up towards his hairline. "Are you serious Elsa? You were nearly murdered!"

"Yes, but that only means that we must keep going! Hans is getting more brazen and he will come after me either way, we might as well do some good while we can. I'm tired of running, I'm tired of being Arendelle's only hope, and not living up to it," she surprised herself with her own honesty. She didn't want to run away like last time. Even though she was scared, terrified of what Hans could and was willing to do to her, she knew what running felt like, and it was much, much worse.

"You can't do any good if you're dead, Elsa" Kristoff rebuked her faintly, looking up from where he paced back and forth near the doorway. He never managed to keep still in situations like this, Elsa noted. He always had to keep moving restlessly about whenever the atmosphere became strenuous.

"He's right," Oaken surmised, stretching his legs out and letting out a loud huff of air. "Keeping you alive is our priority."

Elsa fought the irritation that was rising in her throat, her fingers twisting in the fur at her fingertips, which was met with a low growl of disapproval. She smoothed the spot on his head gently upon realization and waited for her annoyance to calm down before answering in a low, regulated voice. "But the Southern Isles may not even help us, Oaken. What if we can do better by visiting more cities. We can find a way, we're rebels for goodness sake. We should know how to be stealthy."

"We were trying to be discreet before, and look what happened," Alec cut in from the other side of the room, where he sat lazily whilst he sharpened one of his daggers lovingly. Anna and Bear sat next to him silently, Anna in her tiny frame and Bear in his burly hulking exterior. Both of them didn't seem like they were about to interject any time soon, they were just listening intently to what everyone else had to say. While this was rather out of the ordinary for Anna, Elsa was quite glad that they too weren't also joining in disagreeing with her. Alec and her stubborn best friend were more than enough on top of Oaken.

"They will find us if we keep causing a disturbance," Alec continued.

"But-"

"Elsa," Oaken said firmly, fixing her with his gaze. "We have no choice. We have to press straight on to the Southern Isles. They might be our only hope. Trust me."

She glowered at him, folding her arms tightly over her chest. She knew he was right, they all were. But she didn't want to give up, especially since the Southern Isles could be a complete waste of time. They knew that the citizens of Arendelle were tired of Hans' cruel hand, and those who weren't scared to fight would gladly offer themselves for such a just cause; freedom and peace in the realm.

But there was danger. If she was dead, Hans might never be stopped.

She sighed loudly, and shoved a lock of hair out of her face, shaking her head.

_This isn't how it was supposed to go. _

"Okay," she said finally, raising her head to meet Oaken's eyes. "I'm sure you know best."

_Looks like you're going to have to run one last time. _

Oaken nodded curtly, rising to his feet. "We'll leave at first light. Let's go refuel then get a good night's rest."

The others murmured in agreement, all of them rising to their feet to oblige. Elsa picked up the little creature and set it on its feet, where it stumbled sleepily for a moment before padding away to find a new spot to sleep.

Then they all froze when a piercing noise shattered around them; a sharp, screeching scream that grated in Elsa's eardrums, and she clapped her hands over her ears, her face twisting into a grimace. The others reacted in a similar manner, cowering against the sharp cry, like that of a dying animal, that rang around them.

It stopped after a few moments, as if whatever had caused the disturbance had paused for breath, and the silence that followed was empty except for their hollow gasps.

"What _was_ that?" Kristoff demanded, his face a mask of confusion.

No one answered him, because not one of them had the faintest idea.

* * *

As soon of they gathered their thoughts, which didn't take long at all, the six of them took off at a dead run out of the doors, weapons drawn and raised for whatever they were about to face. It was very apparent that they all had the instincts of a fighter within them, since they all immediately burst into action without a second thought. Anna wondered for a fraction of a second if this was bravery or foolhardiness, that they all instinctively bolted for the danger, but then the sound rasped in her ears again and the thought was gone.

They burst out into the night, met by screaming and the fear that was rippling through the crowds as they pushed and shoved to get off the streets and find refuge.

The night was tinged with the slight scent of smoke, which grew stronger with every step they took as they fought through the hordes of terrified people, filling Anna's lungs with rancid fumes. The others succumbed to fits of hacking into their sleeves, but Anna managed to suppress the resistance in her lungs as she pressed on, her breath heaving out in short gasps.

That sound again, and screams of terror filled the air around them, horror and fear rising from the masses like a toxic cloak, sending everyone into fits of madness.

_What is going on? _

Then they rounded a corner, and the sight that met Anna's eyes made her gasp aloud, a hand flying up to cover her mouth in shock.

A veil of smoke had gathered in the air and was clinging to everything like a dusky shroud, swirling around them and hanging low over the ground and spiralling into everyone's lungs as they ran. Stumbling, with tears rushing down their faces and soot smeared across their skin, strangers staggered past her, and Anna wanted to reach out to each of them, to help them up and carry them away to safety. But she was rooted in one spot, her brain slow to process the chaos around her.

Not far up ahead, flames were flickering through the haze. Buildings, so many of them, were ablaze, engulfed in treacherous fire. The fire ravaged the structures, tearing them apart beam by beam, the materials that once held homes, lives and families, collapsing in on themselves. Obliterating. Destroying.

That roar again. Louder. Sharper.

They had gotten to a point where the crowds had dispersed, only few remained this close to the blaze, ones who had stopped running and were crumbled on the ground heaving and coughing, or the ones who were standing completely still, staring through watery eyes at the inferno. Anna wondered again about bravery and foolishness.

Then it came into view.

The first thing Anna saw was its back, emerging out of the haze, curving and flecked with brilliant scales that reflected the flames off in a brilliance that almost made her reach up to shield her eyes. Even from this distance she could see the way its hide rippled with each flowing movement, exuding a kind of terrifying grace that one experiences from the beauty and strength of a predator cornering its prey. Then its claws emerged from the shadows, hooked and cruel at the end of long, muscular legs that were slowly thundering along the street, each step sending smoke billowing around it in waves.

Then its head came into view, and its face. Its terrifying, horrifying face.

Its reptile like face appeared out of the gloom, and all Anna could see was its eyes. Raging, blood red eyes that glimmered in the midst of the clouds of smoke, glinting at her. They seemed to be staring straight at her, striking at every nerve that was already prickling inside of her in fear of this beast. Its mouth hung open and revealed its sharp fangs and rows of teeth. But its _eyes._ They terrified her, and yet she could not seem to look away.

"Is that..." Kristoff hissed, his voice was filled with shock, and he didn't even bothering to finish his sentence as he trailed off in awe.

"A dragon," Alec finished for him, tightening his grip on his sword and dropping into a crouched fighting stance, but his face was contorted in just as much astonishment as Kristoff's.

"Impossible," Elsa breathed in disbelief and fear beside her, and Anna didn't have to turn to know what kind of face she would be making. Her voice said it all. "They're just a legend."

"Oh really?" Kristoff yelled, jabbing one finger at the enormous beast that shivered in a cloud of its own smoke, its scaly skin shimmering in the light of the fires that had erupted from his own mouth. "Because unless we are all having _very similar_ hallucinations, I'm pretty damn sure that there is one _right there_."

"Run," Oaken suddenly commanded, grabbing Elsa's arm roughly and spinning her around to face him before pushing her in the opposite direction of the danger. "Now."

Anna could see the darkening of Elsa's eyes, the way her features set into determined anger, her eyes practically sparkling with a torrent of emotion. She was fearsome in that moment, and when she sprang forward to stand inches away from Oaken's face, Anna swore that he actually shrank back a fraction from her. "I am not going anywhere. These people need our help, and I am _not leaving_. Not this time!"

"Elsa, go. Now." Oaken was seething, clenching his fists at his sides as he practically yelled at her in his panic, but Elsa glared up at him with that stubborn gaze, her eyes never wavering, never faltering. She was not backing down.

Then she turned, capturing Anna's undivided attention as her blonde hair caught the light of the flames and her eyes sparkled fiercely. She looked like a warrior about to plunge into battle, like she was about to vanquish enemy after enemy, fearlessly. Anna thought with fervent admiration that she truly looked like a queen.

Before she even thought about it, before her mind had time to catch up to her feet, she was rushing forward, and her hand was wrapped around Elsa's arm. She flinched at the contact and spun around to face her, eyes still glimmering with determination, seeming to be waiting for Anna to reprimand her also, to tell her she couldn't make herself useful.

Something stirred inside Anna, and despite the perilous situation, she felt her lips curving into a strange smile. Not a happy smile, but one that came with knowing that she knew what she had to do.

She leaned in close to Elsa to whisper softly in her ear, her fingers gingerly touching the skin of Elsa's arm, and she marvelled for a moment how cool and smooth her skin was, even now. It was heaven against her own hot skin. In fact, Anna felt like she was boiling, like her insides were cooking just as much as the outside that was drenched in perspiration. She was glistening, and she was so hot. Elsa's skin was almost cold. She wanted to press her whole body against the length of hers.

But now was most definitely not the time for that.

"You will have your time to save us all Elsa," she assured her gently, so close her lips almost brushed against her ear. "But not today, my Queen."

Then she stepped backwards, ignoring Elsa as she called her name out in a raised voice, tinged with alarm as Anna slung her bow over her shoulder to free her hands. Striding forward, she did not falter. She knew what she had to do, and nothing could stop her.


	13. City of Flames

Elsa had felt fear before. She had awoken in the middle of the night, screaming from her own nightmares. She had been attacked, thrown out of her home and had been hunted down. She had feared for herself, and she had feared for others.

But nothing could compare to the fear that was coursing through her in this moment.

Only one time she had felt this kind of fear before, and ever since that day, she had hoped that she would never feel this fear again. Yet here it was, clawing at her insides and poisoning her blood.

The moment Anna removed her hand from her arm, and moved out of reach, Elsa felt something snap inside her. That girl had a look of pure determination in her eyes, and it terrified Elsa because she had no idea what she was about to do. She stared at Elsa for a few moments as she stepped into the swirling clouds of smoke, her eyes begging her to stay where she was. Then she turned, and she was striding away as if she weren't barreling towards a beast that could spit fire. She was fearless.

"Anna!" Elsa screamed, coughing at the smoke that was sucked into her lungs at every breath. Tears were pricking in her eyes, blurring her vision. Sobs stuck in her throat as she watched Anna disappear into the shroud of whiteness. She was gone, Elsa couldn't see her anymore.

_No._

Elsa's fists tightened, and her muscles flexed. Her skin was _so cold._

The beast roared, its growling song serenading the destruction of a city.

_I will not let her die._

A hand grasped her shoulder roughly, jerking her backwards sharply. Her head snapped forward and her head was jarred at the impact. She knew what was coming.

"Don't you dare even think about following her," a hard voice yelled behind her.

She spun around, her eyes wide and angry, all of her fear reflected in her eyes. This was no time for hiding. There was no need for a mask, Anna needed her help. She would not let anything stop her from giving it, and she would not conceal one bit of herself. She needed to be strong. This time, she would be strong.

"You cannot stop me Oaken," she snapped, shaking her arm, trying to dislodge his hand. He did not let go, his grip tightened, his eyes grew fiercer. Hers did in return twofold.

"If you follow her, you will die Elsa."

She looked up at him sadly shook her head. He wanted to protect her. She was his Queen, and she knew how important it was to him that she was safe. She wasn't safe though, she couldn't be safe when Anna stood in the face of danger. He was so kind, and he cared for her so much, but she just couldn't stay here and let Anna get hurt.

She placed one hand on the side of his face, and looked at her dear friend with agonized eyes, pleading with him silently to understand. "Maybe. But if I do not go, I will suffer a fate worse than death."

Then she wrenched herself away, finally breaking his grip, and her loyal commander put on a face of absolute terror.

Then they were all screaming her name, but she hardly heard it. They were running to her, arms outstretched to catch her, as if she were standing on the edge of a cliff and they could still save her. She paid them no mind. She was concentrating.

_You can't hide it any more. This is it._

She closed her eyes in a moment that felt as long as time itself, and breathed in, drawing into herself, searching for that hard stone of ice that pushed her freezing blood through her veins. She pushed, hunting through every vessel, every darkened corner inside of herself. She was collapsing inwards, her mind turned inside out as she sought out her salvation.

Then she found it, and a hush was flung over everything around her. There was only her and this tingling inside of her. It was familiar, and it was surreal. It was swirling around inside her like a hurricane, a storm was raging inside and it was tired of being kept in.

Her eyes flashed open and her hand shot up, and it burst out of her, her skin prickling as it flowed through her. It begged for release and when it got it, oh it didn't disappoint.

_Control it. Bend it to your will._

It was magic, spiralling out of her fingertips, flurrying in the air as she directed it. It was hers to do with as she wished.

In an instant, a wall of ice began to erect itself between her and her well meaning pursuers, who all stopped in astonishment as they saw what was occurring at the command of her hands. It creaked as the ice grew, stacking itself higher and higher. She only saw their shock for a moment, because she thrust the ice higher in the air, above her head and high enough that no one could possibly climb over. There was no way for them to stop her now.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered quietly. Then she had turned, and she was running, with only one thought echoing in her mind.

_Anna. _

Her heart was pounding, her hands were sparkling with magic, and she had only one goal. Find Anna. Get her to safety.

"Anna!" she screamed, her voice hoarse from the smoke billowing in her face. "Anna, where are you?"

She could hardly see anything, her eyes were burning, her skin was glistening. She was in the midst of a vestige of flames, and she was a creature of ice. She didn't belong here, but it didn't even matter.

"Anna!" Her voice was urgent.

_Where is she? Please, please, please, let her be okay. _

Then, her shoulders were clasped in someone's hands, and she was shaking. No, someone was shaking her, someone with hair that danced in the firelight, and eyes like the ocean after a storm...

"Anna!" she cried, and flung herself forward without thinking, and then she was in Anna's arms, relief crashing over her. Her hands came up to clasp the fabric of the other girl's shirt, clinging to it like it was her life source, as relief flooded through her like a tidal wave.

_I found her. _

She felt one of Anna's hands rise to touch her back lightly for a moment, gently caressing her shoulder blade, as if she were trying to soothe her. She almost gasped at the contact, she had not realized how much she had yearned for her touch. It was as if feeling her hand pressed against her back was confirmation that she was really, truly alright.

Then she was flying backwards, and Anna's eyes were glaring at her with blatant fear shining in them. "Elsa what are you doing, you have to go back," she shrieked, thumping her hands against her chest, trying to shove her back in the direction she came from. Elsa resisted, pushing back, her hands closing over Anna's, stopping their panicked assault.

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Anna."

"You must! Elsa you could _die_!" Her voice was rising higher in pitch with every word that came out of her mouth. She shoved Elsa again, with more force this time. "Go, please! Elsa, please go back."

"Not without you!"

At her words, a flaming fragment of what once belonged to a house they were standing in front of, came tumbling down right beside them, landing with a resounding thud and sending flecks of burning wood and ash around them like tiny fireflies. Elsa leapt backwards, avoiding the glowing embers.

Anna was gripping her arm tightly, shaking her roughly, terror glinting in her face. She was so scared, and it wasn't for herself, it was for Elsa. It was her she was scared for, she could feel it drifting off her in waves. Elsa knew this, just by looking into her panicked eyes, because she was absolutely sure that she wore the exact same expression on her face at that very moment.

Anna opened her mouth, no doubt to scream at Elsa to turn back right away, but she was cut off but the thundering yowling of the beast, the sound of its dreadful voice crashing over them. Anna released her arm to clap her hands over her ears, and Elsa did the same, squinting her eyes shut. She could hear that it was getting closer, its bellows becoming louder, its footsteps shaking the ground beneath their feet more and more. They were in the very real danger of the dragon noticing them now, and this danger was augmented every moment that they stood here.

She was about to reach out and grab Anna's hand and drag her to safety, kicking and screaming if needed, but suddenly Anna was tapping her arm urgently, and she looked up to see her pointing her finger towards the thicket of flames. "Elsa, look."

Elsa looked through bleary eyes, blinking her bleary eyes and trying to figure out what exactly she was looking at.

A shadowy figure was emerging out of the flickering inferno, seemingly unperturbed by the flames that were licking at the air on either side of him. He was walking slowly and purposefully, towards them, his hands behind his back as he strolled through the flaming promenade. It was as if he didn't even notice where he was; as if he was merely taking a leisurely walk through a calm garden with fields of flowers and a gazebo.

As he got closer she was beginning to see his features; hair bright as the fire that danced around them, dark eyes that glinted menacingly, a sharp, hooked nose set on a narrow face with hollowed cheeks. He wore an expression of smug indifference, as if he were overlooking one of his own majestic creations. He looked cruel, just from the way he stared at the two of them, cowering in the ash as they braced themselves for this man who was probably another foe. Elsa felt her muscles tightening and her hands shaking with her magic. She was ready.

He stopped a few feet in front of them, and from his rather lofty height, he peered down at them with a malicious, sly smile.

"Oh dear," he sneered. "Why on earth have you two stayed behind?" Something about his voice got under her skin, it was like the screeching of nails being pulled out of a plank, but condensed into the silky smooth, menacing lilt of his voice. She shivered inwardly, fear sending ice crystals to form around her fingernails.

"Who are you?" She snapped. They were in no situation for this stranger to play games with them.

His smile widened, becoming even more detestable.

"Oh, sweet girl. What a pleasure it is to meet you. You're Elsa, are you not?"

Elsa blanched, and her heart thudded so loud she was almost sure that it was audible to the other two, it was so loud in her own ears.

_How does he know who I am._

He laughed loudly, pressing a hand dramatically to his chest and throwing his head back in malicious amusement. Elsa bristled, and she took a step forward as if she was about to strike him, but a hand on her arm and an admonishing look from Anna made her pause, and wait for the brute to continue.

"Well dear," he began, still chuckling slightly, "there is not many around that have your extraordinary hair. Also, I became very aware of your face during my stay at the castle. There's a great big portrait of you stashed in one of the back rooms."

At the mention of the castle, she flinched, and her eyes narrowed as she took a few steps forward to glare at him face to face, summoning every ounce of intimidation she could muster.

"When were you at the palace," she demanded, maintaining eye contact with his piercing eyes.

He grinned down at her with crooked, yellowing teeth for far too long before answering, in that same infuriatingly taunting voice.

"Why, when I was summoned there by Hans, of course."

Hearing his name struck her like a bolt of lightning straight into her chest. She felt like she was falling, like her heart had been ripped out and stomped on. She was so cold, freezing. She wondered if her blood had turned to ice in her veins, if her blood had stopped flowing altogether and was frozen solid.

_He's found me. He's won. _

As the dread was mounting in her wide eyes, the man stepped forward and grasped her chin tightly, gouging his fingers into her skin, making her squirm and yet she could not seem to find it in herself to back away. It was as if she was completely immobilized by fright.

"You're done for now, wench. This," he gestured to the blaze around them, "is all my doing. I see fear in your eyes, and you should be scared. You should be terrified."

He had hardly finished his sentence when Anna was suddenly in between them, knocking his bony hand away, with a dagger pointed at his throat. "Do. Not. Touch. Her," she spat, enunciating each word with a deadly threat. There was a fire in her eyes as she assumed a protective stance, shielding Elsa from whatever this man might do next. She was radiating fury, and Elsa was sure that she would not hesitate to use that dagger if she needed to.

As soon as she was free from his grasp, Elsa's hands were raised and she was calling her magic again. She had to at least try to stop this madness.

Focused on controlling the enchantment to do exactly what she wanted to do, she gathered a shimmering cloud of flurries above her head; fat, wet flakes that twinkled in the light of the fire around it. The air around the three of them grew cold, frost coating the ground around her feet, shards of ice dancing amongst the snow. Anna had turned away from their assailant and was staring at her in awe at the majestic display of magic she was creating, but Elsa hardly noticed. She had to concentrate.

She inhaled deeply, gathering her strength inside of her, and then let out her breath in one heavy gust. At the same time, she swung her arms in one fell swoop, and the cloud of snow and ice spiralled outwards, growing and stretching, reaching out with pale fingers to curl around every flickering flame that ravaged the city. She pressed outwards, drawing more and more of the ice from her core, watching as bit by bit, fires were extinguished, smothered by her ice. A blizzard was twisting through her and out through her hands, obeying her every command as it sought out every wavering source of heat that she could find with the probing of her senses. She was a master of ice, it pulsated in her heart with every beat, it was part of her. She could do anything with it, and now she was using it for the first time in two years, to protect Anna.

When she was certain that all of the fires were out, that all the heat had been conquered, she lowered her hands and let out a shaky breath. A silence had fallen over the city streets, and everything was coated in a thick layer of whiteness and quiet. Tiny flecks of snow hovered in the air around them, and their breath left their mouths in frosty clouds. With just her hands and the power that lay clenched inside of her, dormant for so long before this day, she had transformed the blazing inferno into a winter wonderland in a matter of seconds.

That had felt_ so good. _Magic made her feel alive, like she was bursting with energy, with light and luminescence. She had not felt good about her magic in so long, and now that she did, she wanted to drench herself in it for forever.

She turned around slowly, and Anna was staring at her with eyes the size of saucers, her mouth hanging open comically. She sputtered for a moment, her brows drawn together in confusion as she tried to find an adequate way to articulate whatever it was she wanted to ask. Elsa guessed there were so many questions inside her head right now that she simply didn't know where to begin.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she whispered softly, under her breath, putting as much sincerity into her voice as she possibly could. She felt bad about not telling her, and having it out the open was so relieving. She felt like a weight had been lifted off of her, like she was finally breathing for the first time in years. She felt _different_.

Anna snapped her mouth shut and just shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head in bewilderment. "I just... I don't know what to say."

"I'm sorry," Elsa repeated, pleading her with her eyes. She wanted her to know how hard it had been keeping it a secret, keeping something this big inside of her for so long. It was such a burden, such a secret, and it ached inside of her at every moment of every day. She didn't want to keep secrets, but she had simply not known any way not to.

They were interrupted by the sound of a slow sarcastic clapping coming from a few feet away from them. Elsa grimaced. She had almost forgot about the stranger that was still with him.

"What a neat little trick, Elsa," he smirked, crossing his arms over his chest and looking purely the image of arrogance. "Very nice. But you see, there's just one little problem."

He raised one hand, and cocked an eyebrow at her before drawing one of his fingers against his thumb, and snapping them together with a loud _click_.

Then, to both Anna and Elsa's horror, flames, twice as high as they were before, danced from the ruins of the city, washing them both a wave of heat that made Elsa stagger. Her snow and ice disappeared without a trace, and was replaced with the roar of a mighty inferno.

"What you didn't account for," he shouted over the blaze, his arms raised dramatically as if the conductor of a great masterpiece, "is that I am a magician as well. Your ice might extinguish my flame, but you cannot control the beast."

And with that, he flung a hand up with a flourish, and the dragon roared again, its voice echoing around them. Unseen, due to the leaping flames, but close. So close.

The man was pointing his hand straight at Elsa, and she stood paralyzed. What could she do to stop this. She could not save this city. She was out of her depth. She was going to die.

"King Hans wishes you well," he sneered, and an arc of fire sprung from his hand towards her.

"No!" Anna screamed, and then Elsa was flying mid air, sliding in the gathering dust of ash and soot, choking on the film that rose up to fill her lungs with its smokiness. The breath was knocked out of her, and she heaved heavily on impact. She hacked laboriously into her hands, tears streaming from her eyes as she rode the waves of coughing.

When she had finally calmed her lungs enough to sit up straight, the sight that met her eyes made her scream with more anguish than she had ever felt in her entire life.

When Anna had pushed her away, the stream of fire that had sprouted from his hands did not stop, but landed on her. Anna was standing right in the middle of a pool of flames, as the man pushed his magic towards her. Elsa could see through the flickering light that the fire was licking at her hair, dancing across her skin as it swirled around her. The man cackled maniacally, the sound matching the frantic flames that sputtered around Anna.

Elsa was screaming, her throat raw and her voice rasping. She didn't even have think as magic mounted in her hand, as it formed a deadly bar of ice, pointed and jagged. It flew through the air, towards the monster that was hurting Anna. It plunged into his chest, and he was thrown backwards with a guttural gasp, and the fire died from his hands as he flopped onto the ground like a ragdoll. At impact, the dragon screamed in the same moment, his cry shattering the air around them.

The man wheezed and sputtered, clutching at the wound in his chest as blood stained his clothing. He was making awful, horrible noises and his face was contorted in pain. Elsa couldn't bear to look at him. After a few moments, the noises stopped, and he lay still. He was dead.

Elsa sobbed, collapsing into the dirt and buried her face in her arms, heaving dry, tearless cries. Her whole body was shaking with grief. She couldn't look at Anna, she didn't want to see.

_Anna_.

"Elsa?"

Elsa's head jerked up sharply, and she stood up and she spun around so fast that she almost ended up knocking herself into the dirt again. She gasped audibly when she saw Anna standing there, completely untouched, unharmed. She was _okay. _

"_Anna_," she breathed incredulously, every bone in her body locking in place in shock. Besides looking a little bit disheveled, no one would guess that a moment earlier that she had been engulfed in magical flames.

_How is she okay? _

Anna shrugged sheepishly and bit her lip, and started to say something, but she never got a chance to speak because hardly an instant passed before Elsa rushed forward with a relieved sob, and her mouth was on Anna's.

In the midst of destruction and flame, their feverish passion coursed through them and they were pressed together in a frenzied embrace. Elsa was so relieved she that she was okay, that she stopped caring about everything else, all that mattered was Anna's skin on her own, her lips that were soft as silk and the way her body curved perfectly against her own. She forgot about the fire, the dragon, the attempted murder... She just needed Anna in this moment, more than anything. Her hands were pressed against her warm cheeks, and Anna's were looped around her waist, holding her as tightly as Elsa was. Her lips were against hers as she held her tightly, drinking in every ounce of passion that Anna poured back into her.

_She's okay. She's alive._

"Anna, you... scared me... to death," she gasped between frantic kisses, and a tear squeezed out from her eye and snaked down her face, tickling her cheek.

Anna wiped it away with the back of her hand, and kissed her again gently, her lips lingering for a long moment, before resting her forehead lightly against Elsa's and emitting a sound that was like a sob and a laugh at the same time. "I'm sorry," she choked in an earnest apology.

Elsa shook her head almost imperceptibly, not wanting to dislodge the contact between them. "It's not your fault," she croaked as she gently caressed Anna's cheek with her thumb, running her finger across the softness of her skin, in awe of the fact that she was still able to touch her like this. She wanted to drown in Anna's azure, sea swept eyes, that were shining with tears of her own.

"Elsa..." she began, and then sighed, breathing out a heavy sigh and closing her eyes. A pained expression took over her face.

"What is it?" Elsa asked, worry creeping into her voice as she pressed her fingers tighter against the red haired girl's face. "Anna?"

She opened her eyes and looked at Elsa with an apology glimmering in her eyes. She stepped backwards, out of her reach, and suddenly Elsa was snapped back to reality as she lost contact with Anna, and she was in the middle of a burning city with the prickling sense of a beast nearby raising the hairs on her skin. She wanted to reach out and pull her back into her arms, feel the comfort of her warmth, but Anna was shaking her head and her hands were held up as if to hold her back. She stayed where she was, confused and still dazed from the intoxication of all that was Anna.

_What a place to be desiring her like this, Elsa._

"It seems that neither of us has been completely honest with each other," Anna said softly, her hands still raised and a tiny smile was flickering on her lips.

"What are you talking about Anna?"

"There was a reason I ran away last time we kissed Elsa. It wasn't because I didn't want it."

Elsa frowned in confusion, wondering where she was going with this. "Then why?"

Anna was stretching her hands over her head now, her smile spreading across her face and her face lighting up with animation. "Because," she shouted, throwing her head back and splaying her fingers. "I didn't want to hurt you Elsa. You see..." she paused, and glanced over at Elsa out of the corner of her eye, a puzzling sparkle shining in her fleeting look.

"I have magic too."

Then there was a flask of light, brighter even than the pyre that flanked them on both side, and Anna's hands were alight, sparking with heat and enchantment. Elsa felt the familiar presence of magic spark in the air, the one she knew so well, but this time it was coming from Anna, as she watched in astonishment at what she was doing.

Anna's face was twisted in concentration, her fair skin flushed, bathed in the warm glow of her magic. She was showered in brilliant light as she grew the enchanted flame into her hands, sending it spiralling into her own body. It was drawn to her like a moth to lamplight, like it belonged to her in the first place and had no business not being a part of her. She was a conflagration of flame, light up like the sun kissing the horizon as it crept over the mountain tops at the crest of the morning. She was an instrument of power, she was radiant and luminescent and Elsa couldn't have looked away even if she tried.

The flames around them were slowly dispersing, sucked into the vibrant enchantress that held her power over them, leaving behind charred ruins where a grand city once stood. The city where the tales of dragons were born had succumbed to a blazing inferno, turned into a blacken heap of ash and dust.

When the final remnants of flame had been drawn into their master, Anna gasped loudly, and left only a tiny glimmer of light behind; a tiny ball of fire that she held in her hand, dancing majestically in her palm as she slowly turned to Elsa with guarded expression. Silence hung in the air between them as Elsa stood with clenched fists and eyes opened wide in astonishment. Anna was staring at her cautiously, she was clearly bracing herself for however Elsa was going to react.

Elsa just stood there with jumbled thoughts rattling in her brain. She didn't know how to begin to process this.

_How. How could this be true._

Then, piece by piece, it came to her. The way Anna never seemed to get burned. The fascination she always seemed to have with fire. The way her skin was always warm and her skin flushed as if there was always heat boiling beneath the surface.

It sank in slowly, sinking in as her mind flashed backwards to the signs. When she had pushed her away from the kiss, her skin had been so hot against her cool flesh; so hot that she should have noticed, but it had felt so good she hadn't given it a second thought.

So Anna was like her.

Which meant she had been hiding it. She had felt the agony of keeping a secret that Elsa knew far too well, and despised with ever part of her being. She knew how much hiding it hurt.

So, with this in mind, how Elsa reacted was by shaking herself, softening the shock on her face, and stepping closer to Anna, until she was close enough to feel the heat radiating from her magic.

_I've never seen her look nervous like this. _

Her face immediately broke into a smile, and she breathed out a tiny laugh of exhilaration. "You're magnificent, Anna."

Anna sighed sharply in relief and smiled back at her, the flame guttering out in a tiny puff of smoke. Then they were in each other's arms again, laughing quietly under their breath as they held each other tightly. Elsa pressed her face into the warmth of Anna's neck, breathing in a sigh of contentment.

_All that matters is that she's safe._

A loud thump behind them made them both freeze instantaneously, and the momentary peace was immediately shattered at the sound.

"Uh... Elsa?" Anna began apprehensively. "I think we might have forgotten something rather important..."

They broke apart, eyes wide in fear, as they spun around, and came face to face with the last thing that should have ever slipped their minds.

The dragon was standing near the end of the destroyed street, close enough that they could see the blackened scales that coated its body, its razor-sharp fangs peeking out from a massive jaw that hung open slightly. A snakelike tongue flickered from its cavernous mouth, and its nostrils flared as it crouched so low that its belly was almost brushing against the ground. Its tail whipped from side to side, knocking heaps of debris around with a hollow clattering. Its eyes were on them, an inescapable glare that made them both shiver internally with fear.

It bellowed a rumbling roar, and then it was charging, its immense, reptilian body thundering through the wreckage towards them.

"Run!" Anna screamed, grabbing Elsa's hand. Elsa didn't need convincing, and then they were running as fast as they could, their hands clasped together as they sprinted for their lives.

The beast screeched, and Elsa heard the whoosh of air that sounded like the expanding of wings, and then there was a great flapping noise. Gusts of wind caressed the back of her neck, and they picked up the pace, running as fast as they possibly could. Elsa's chest was constricted as is begged for air, her feet ached with every step, and her breath was laboured and heavy; and yet she kept running. She had to keep going. She couldn't stop.

She screamed when Anna's hand was wrenched from her own, and she found herself on the ground, sprawled in the dirt. She coughed, and rolled over clutching at her aching ribs, struggling to her feet.

"Anna!" she shrieked her name in horror when she saw what had happened.

The dragon was hovering above her, its wings flapping furiously as it rose higher and higher in the air, its wingspan casting a shadow over Elsa as she stared up into the sky, biting back anguished screams.

From the dragon's body extended its long, muscular legs, and a slumped figure was clutched in its pointed claws.

She screamed her name again, and again... over and over until her throat was dry and her voice was coarse. She frantically drew up her magic and cast enormous spears of ice to stab it, but they shattered harmlessly against its tough hide. She cast a frigid wind, howling and fierce, but it hardly seemed to notice as it gained altitude, and faded out of sight, taking Anna along with it.

* * *

Anna groaned loudly as she awoke groggily and pressed one hand to her forehead and grimaced when she felt a large bump forming there. Dried blood flaked off into her hands as she drew them away.

_Great. I guess I hit my head when that damned dragon grabbed me. _

At the thought of the dragon she shot up, ignoring the rushing agony that spread through her head, and blinked rapidly, her heart pounding as she tried to figure out where she was.

She was laying underneath a overhanging of rock that jutted out in the bleak darkness of some kind of cave, she guessed, and a few yards away grayish light curled into the space through the entrance. It was dark except for that small amount of light, and the air was damp and musky. She could hear water trickling somewhere far off in the distance, behind her where the light dissipated and faded off into deep blackness. The echoing sound of rushing water was somewhat comforting, like there was maybe a peaceful river nearby.

But where was the dragon?

Her question was answered as a low growl echoed through the cave, and she spun around to peer into the blackness, stepping backwards gingerly, shaking with fright as she backed away.

It crept out of the darkness like a hulking shadow, its head appearing out of the darkness and revealing those awful eyes and that terrible, animal-like smile. It looked mere seconds away from devouring her whole.

She decided she might as well try to run.

She spun on her heel and was sprinting for all of one moment before the shadow drew alongside her and she was thrown aside, as the dragon blocked the entrance with its massive body, blocking her way to freedom.

Panting, she froze. She had absolutely no idea what to do.

The beast growled low in its throat, the sound rumbling inside its chest as it glared at her. Then it was springing forward like a predator after its prey; mouth wide, eyes wild.

"Don't!" she screamed, flinching backward and shielding her face, as a flash of light sparked from her hands, her magic singing the air. A reflex that would really do her no good to protect her from its deadly teeth. Death was coming for her.

She cowered and waited for death to come, but after a few moments she realized that she was in fact, not dead, and tentatively she peaked out of one eye to see why exactly that was.

The dragon had stopped a few feet away from her, and it was looking at her now as it recoiled away from her on the floor of the cave. It's eyes were no longer glinting with bloodlust, and the way it was suddenly cowering in front of her almost betrayed... _fear_.

She stepped backwards again, not taking her eyes off of the beast for one instant.

"You didn't kill me," she whispered, as if the creature could answer. "_Why_?"

She paused for a moment, bending over to peer into its eyes. Why on earth would it stop?

Then a thought flashed in her mind.

She extended one hand out in front of her, palm facing up. She concentrated, not taking her eyes of the dragon, and found her magic within herself until a tiny flickering flame was dancing in her palm.

A low, throaty noise, almost like a whine rose from the dragon, and it shrunk back a few paces, putting more distance between her and itself. Anna snapped her hand shut, extinguishing the flame, staring at the beast with absolute shock as she realized what was happening.

_It_ was scared of _her_.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow this one ended up waaay longer than I intended... Mainly because I didn't want to end it on another cliff hanger, or at least one that made it seem like Anna was dead... To stressful even to write it! So I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter, thanks for reading! :)


	14. Saving Her

"So... how long have you been able to do that?"

Elsa flinched as Kristoff broke the awkward silence that had settled between the four of them, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat atop a pile of hay. This was not a conversation that she wanted to have.

"Since I was a child," she responded slowly, impatiently picking a piece of straw off of her trousers. "But I haven't used it in years."

"And why not?" Kristoff exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in disbelief. "If I could do something that amazing I would-"

"Kristoff," Oaken admonished sharply, giving him a warning look that Elsa probably wasn't supposed to notice. Kristoff snapped his mouth shut and flopped back against the wall.

"Look, it doesn't even matter. We need to stop wasting time and go after Anna," she snapped.

"Elsa, how do you propose we do that? She could be anywhere," Oaken replied gently, resting a hand lightly on her leg.

"I told you where she is!" she exclaimed, pushing his hand away and jumping to her feet to pace back and forth across the barn floor. She couldn't keep still, everything inside of her was a mass of writhing impatience and worry. She wanted to be out looking for Anna right now. She needed their help.

"Elsa, you know where a_ legend_ in a book tells you she is. What are the chances of that actually being true?"

"How likely was it that the dragon part was true, Oaken? It's the best we've got and we can't just leave her out there!"

"Elsa is right," a low, gruff voice growled from a dark corner. They all turned sharply to stare at Bear, who rarely spoke or drew any attention to himself, but was now glaring at them all with a hard expression on his weathered face. "We cannot leave the girl to die."

Swallowing around the surprise at hearing him address them so firmly, Elsa managed a small grateful smile in his direction. "Thank you, Bear," she said softly.

The sound of the barn door slamming shut rang out behind them, and they turned to see a flustered Alec slipping into the room, clutching a lantern and pushing his hood back from over his eyes.

"Where have you been," Oaken demanded, narrowing his eyes. "This isn't the time to be wandering around."

"Oh, uh..." he stammered, running one hand through his disheveled dark hair. "I was just, uh, looking around to see if anyone needed help. You know. The survivors."

He slid into a spot next to Kristoff, who clapped him amiably on the back, and Oaken just grunted before turning his attention back to Elsa.

"We can't go after her Elsa. You say she must be in the North Mountain, but what are the chances of her actually being there, alive or at all?"

"Don't you dare say that," she snarled, her voice choking on the toxic words. She resumed her pacing; head down, hands clutching around the hilt of her sword, that had been so kindly returned to her from Kristoff. However, it didn't lend her any comfort right now, as she thought of Anna, worry attacking every nerve in her body.

_She has to be okay._

"It's a possibility that we have to consider Elsa," he continued with his treacherous words that made Elsa shiver internally. Magic tingled in her fingertips. She stuffed it down, choking on the bitter taste of anger rising in her like bile. "And now we know that Hans is after us, and is clearly hiring magicians to hunt us down, we can't waste a moment. We need to move on to the Southern Isles."

Elsa spun around, fire in her eyes and her hands clenched in tight balls of fury. "We cannot abandon her!" she shouted.

"We aren't abandoning her Elsa," he shouted back, his patience fracturing as he rose to his feet to tower over Elsa. "We have to prioritize."

"_Anna_ is my priority."

She was breathing heavily now, the room seemed to be closing in around her and her insides were jumping around as if they wanted release from her skin. She wanted to hit something, she wanted to scream, she wanted to destroy everything. She wanted to draw a storm out from her veins and send it swirling through the air. Every part of her was aching to run out that door and go look for that girl with the hair made of fire and heat sparking in her blood.

More than anything, she wanted Anna to be by her side. She was the only one who could calm the chaos in her mind, and she _wasn't here._

Oaken was still standing over her, and she glared up at him determinedly. She tried her hardest to show him that she was not going to give up on this, but he did not back down. He was as adamant in his decision as she was. He wasn't going to change his mind. As much as he cared for Anna, he had to make the decision that was the most logical, Elsa knew that. He was her commander, and he had to always behave as one. No exceptions. That's what made him such an amazing leader.

With this realization, she let out an angry puff of air and composed herself, setting her face in hard indifference. She turned around and walked calmly over to her bed of straw and ragged blankets, throwing the covers over her and burying her head in their coarseness. She heard them murmuring behind her and shuffling around as they prepared to sleep, snuffing out lanterns and checking on the horses. She paid them no mind, she just lay there in defiance as she seethed in anger and determination.

She was going after Anna. No one could convince her otherwise.

* * *

Anna's stomach growled and she clutched at her belly as she rested her head against the cold stone behind her and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't know how long she has been here in the cave - night had fallen at least once, but she did not know how long she had been unconscious - however it was long enough that she was beginning to feel faint with hunger. She had hardly moved from her spot in the corner in the dark cave, for fear that the dragon would turn on her if she did. The beast had been crouched a short distance away from her ever since she had awoken here, and the whole time it had been glaring at her with its fiery eyes, its heavy breath gusting out of its lungs, its body still as it could be as it watched her.

Here in the close confines of the cavern, it was just as terrifying as it had been when they'd encountered it in the vestige of flame. In silence and stillness it lost none of its ferocity. The terror that had washed over her in the cinders of the destroyed city still squeezed her throat, the same terror that had been shining in Elsa's eyes as they realized what was happening.

_Elsa._

The thought of her made her heart make an erratic throb inside her chest, and she fought the sudden urge to cry. Her silky skin and gentle eyes flashed in her mind, and she wished she could twine her hands in the masses of blonde hair that adorned her head. She wanted Elsa here; Elsa the enchantress of ice, who had stood so strong against the danger they'd faced, the powerful woman Anna had believed she was from the very moment they met. With a pang she remembered that she had no possible way of knowing if she would ever see her again.

She shook herself and frowned. She couldn't allow herself to think of that now. She was in danger right now, and it had to be dealt with.

As much as she didn't want to aggravate the dragon, Anna needed to eat. She was going to starve if she didn't. She just had to get around the massive dragon that was between her and the outside.

She shifted slightly, feeling her back pop several times as she straightened and stretched her arms over her head. Her whole body was stiff and bruised, aches and scratched carved into her skin like someone took a blunt knife to her skin. She grimaced as she looked down at her tattered, filthy clothing. She was a mess.

That didn't matter right now though. She needed to gather up her courage and get the dragon to let her by.

She flexed her fingers, remembering the way the dragon had shied back in fear when she had created that tiny ball of fire in her hand. It was certainly strange for a dragon, of all creatures, to be scared of fire, but it seemed like that was the only thing she had to work with at the moment. She had to try.

She breathed in deeply, inhaling slowly to attempt to calm her scattered nerves, and let the breath out in a soft hiss.

She rose to her feet slowly, leaning weakly against the cool stone for support. The dragon looked up at her movement, a low growl rising in it throat, the skin around its mouth drawing back to reveal rows of sharp, pointed teeth.

She extended one hand in front of her, palm up, trembling slightly as she held it out in the direction of the dragon. It eyed her suspiciously, its head rearing up. She gulped nervously, forcing herself to keep her eyes open as she concentrated on drawing fire into her hand. Within moments, a flickering ball of fire unfurled itself in her hand, dancing around in a ball of light and heat, kindling against her skin.

It sprung to its feet with a yowl, its body twisting away as the fireball grew larger and larger, sending flickering light around them to chase away the darkness. It hissed, its snakelike tongue flicking out of its mouth, and its face twisted into one of menace. She persisted, letting the flame grow until it was about the size of her head. She stood still, hardly breathing as the dragon thrashed and glared at her between shrieks of fury.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to scare you," she whispered, tentatively taking one step forward. "Although, I don't really understand why you're scared of fire, you literally _breathe_ fire. I'm sorry, but it really makes no sense." Another step. A sharp cry from her captor. "I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you think. I mean, if you charge at me I'm going to have to defend myself, but I don't _want_ to," she laughed nervously as she took another step, which was reciprocated by the dragon taking a few steps backwards, towards the entrance of the cave.

_Patience, Anna, be patient_; she told herself, as they slowly inched out of the cave. Step by step, they made their way towards the soft light of dawn that shone in faintly through the entrance, the dragon snarling in its throat the whole time, and into the brightness of early morning.

When she finally stepped into the crisp, morning air, she bit back an exclamation of surprise. They were standing in the side of a mountain.

As the glowing fingers of dawn crept over the horizon, penetrating the early morning haze that was clinging to everything, she found herself looking down over a steep cliff that overlooked the Arendelle countryside; a mesh of trees and rolling valleys cloaked in green. Birds chirped their early morning song, a familiar sound that softened the ball of fear that was stuck in her throat. There were no houses or towns that she could make out; there was just vegetation as far as her eye could see. They were certainly in the middle of nowhere.

A realization sparked in her mind, her memories shivering as they unfolded images of childhood schoolrooms and dusty books. She turned around to look at the dragon, who was cowering behind her with a feral expression in its blazing eyes.

"Is this the North Mountain," she demanded, asking herself more than the creature who clearly couldn't answer. Her mind was spinning back towards the story of Arabelle the Dragon-Rider, who had harnessed the powers of the dragon who lived in a cave in the North Mountain, bringing peace to all of Arendelle. Did this mean that the legend was true? It couldn't be.

_However_, she thought,_ not too long ago I would have never believed that there was a dragon hanging around in Arendelle. Who am I to say what is possible?_

If the legend was true, and she had the power to control fire, the chances were that the dragon probably thought that she was going to make it her pet, her slave. The book that she had read countless times, like every other Arendelle child, told of Arabelle's powers to control the dragon because she possessed the gift of flame. She had been kind to the dragon, but it was possible that it had not always been the case that the dragon had been subjected to a just master. As a child she had dreamed of riding on the back of that magnificent creature, sharing with it the ability to make flame erupt from her core. She had felt so isolated by her powers that she had found solace in the fact that the dragon possessed the same powers as her.

And now, here was what could only be described as the very same dragon, or at least one very much like it, growling at her through bared teeth. It was probably frightened because it had been treated poorly before; it was likely that it was most recently by the foul man whom they had encountered in Dreka. It was safe to say that he was not a kind master. Anna shivered at the memory of his cruel face and hard eyes. He had been vicious, clearly exactly the kind of man Hans would want to carry out his orders.

"Hey," she murmured softly to the dragon, lowering the hand that was still sparking with flame, extinguishing it as it flopped down at her side, praying that it wouldn't charge at her as she dropped her guard. After a few moments, when she still wasn't torn apart by the sharp claws that scraped against the dirt, she continued in a quiet voice. "I'm nothing like he was. I won't hurt you." Her voice was dripping with sympathy. Who knows what a man who worked for the power hungry Hans was capable of. "It's okay. I won't hurt you, I promise."

It's expression didn't falter, remaining full of malice and distrust. Anna huffed. Of course it didn't understand her.

With a sigh, she sank slowly into a seated position on a protrusion of rock as she began to whisper a verse from the tale that was embedded in her memory from childhood. One she never imagined that she would ever have to refer to for real help in a dire situation.

_"__Fierce and wild, the mighty beast was now free _

_Cloaking the horizon in flames, his breath alight_

_Arabelle upon his back, a conflagration _

_And together, they brought fire to the dark night."_

* * *

Elsa waited until the darkness fell over the room like a thick, suffocating blanket, before throwing off her covers. She listened intently for the sounds of breathing, and once she was sure that the soft snores that echoes around in the night air were ones of deep sleep, she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She reached over and grabbed her sword and cloak, donning both before rising creakily to her feet. She reached over to gently shake the small dog that was huddled near her feet, and he awoke with a shudder and a small whine, licking at her feet and nuzzling its cold wet nose against the skin of her ankle.

"Shhh Olaf," she hissed under her breath, resting one hand on his furry head and her other hand rising to place one finger on her lips. She leaned down to loop his makeshift leash around his neck, as he flicked his tail back and forth and peered up at her as he quietly sat still.

She straightened and paused for a moment, listening hard to see if the rhythm of breathing was unbroken, and once she was sure that the others were still swept up in dreamland, she shuffled to the door, clutching her cloak around her and gently pulling her dog along as she slowly slid the door open before slipping out.

The air nipped at her cheek and nose as she scurried hurriedly across the yard, her feet making imprints in the damp grass as she walked. The acrid smell of ash still hung in the air, like a noxious cloud that held screams of death and sadness. She cringed and wished she could hold her breath. She didn't want a reminder of what had happened. All that mattered right now was going after Anna, she couldn't think of anything else.

She was almost running now, the two of them bounding away from the barn, her lungs inhaling that stench of suffering and pain. She was running away from the center of town, her eyes raised to the sky, trying to remember what her mother had taught her years ago about navigation. It could come in handy one day, she said, and now Elsa was glad that she had been taught. North. She had to go North.

"Elsa."

She skidded to a stop, startling Olaf at the sudden halt, who yapped in displeasure. She spun around, ready to battle with whoever was behind her, ready to stop her from saving her Anna; her beautiful, spirited Anna.

She was met with the sight of all of her men, all of them armed and faces lit up in alert expressions. Elsa gritted her teeth together and glared at them through narrowed eyes. They had clearly been pretending to be asleep.

"We knew you'd sneak off," Oaken said tightly, stepping forward.

Elsa stepped back. "You can't stop me," she responded, trying to hold back the venom that threatened to creep into her words.

"We're not going to stop you Elsa," Kristoff assured her, stepping out from behind the hulking form of Oaken.

Elsa's arms crossed across her chest as she assumed an air of doubt, glowering at them until she received an explanation.

"We're coming with you!" Alec called out, his voice too loud in the stillness of the night, and he immediately looked embarrassed. He shrank back, and Kristoff nudged him with a sidelong look.

Elsa looked at Oaken in surprise, demanding confirmation. He met her gaze, his eyes equally unwavering.

"Well we can't seem to convince you not to go, so as your protectors, we have to. But first, we'll need the horses."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the lack of excitement in this chapter (I'm nervous about this chapter being dry, but I couldn't find a way around writing it, the next one will be much more thrilling I promise), the plot needs to settle down for a bit now I'm afraid. It's time for some character development, since the plot has progressed significantly in the last couple chapters.

I've taken the time to lay out the plot line to figure out how long it will take to finish everything, and from what I can tell there will be about 35 chapters (this could change, it's just an estimation). I hope you'll stick with me for that long :). I'll try my best to update as much as possible for all you lovely readers (seriously the reviews are so kind, thank you, I wasn't expecting such a nice reaction).

Last thing! I'm considering publishing a little side story that is the prose version of the legend of Arabelle that I keep referencing/quoting... so if you would like to read the whole thing let me know!


	15. Wild and Free

Kristoff turned in his saddle to look back at the blonde haired beauty who was cloaked in a veil of impatience and worry, behind him on the path through the wilderness, astride her beloved horse as they trekked through the forested area. Elsa had hardly spoken since the night they had intercepted her on her solitary rescue mission, opting out conversation for brooding silence for days on end.

"How do you think she is?" Alec asked from his spot beside him, genuine worry colouring his kind voice.

Kristoff turned back to face forward with a sigh, his shoulders hunching up in an indication that he had no idea. "I've never seen her this upset before."

"She must be really attached to Anna," Alec surmised, his voice jolting as his horse sidestepped some obstruction.

"She must," he agreed absent mindedly. He was right; there was clearly some kind of bond that had formed between the two young women when they had been separated from the group. They had moved from friendly acquaintances to trusted companions in just the short time they had spent alone together. Kristoff had never known Elsa to warm up to people so easily, not in the whole time he had known her since childhood. Growing up as the son of a stable hand, and eventually falling into the same role himself, he had found it difficult to make friends until he encountered the kind hearted - yet guarded and quiet princess. They had become fast friends immediately, and stuck together through carefree childhood, to gangly and awkward adolescence, to where they were now; dangling dangerously on the precipice of adulthood. All that time, he had never noticed her to be able to bond so easily with people she had just met.

Then again, she had managed to keep the fact that she was a powerful ice enchantress a secret from him for the entire duration of their friendship. He shouldn't have been surprised that he didn't know everything about her, and yet he was here, dazed and confused by the recent events.

"I wanted to run something by you," Alec said, snapping Kristoff out of his thoughts and back into the realm of real life.

"What is it?" he asked, his curiosity only minutely sparked, but he was willing to listen.

"I've just been thinking..." he began, and looked around as if he was expecting someone to be behind him, before leaning across the gap between them to speak in a low voice. "There has to be someone that's feeding information about our location to Hans."

Kristoff frowned. He was right, there was an extremely high chance that there was someone spying on them that was giving their whereabouts to the imposter of a King.

"I was thinking that it might be someone in the group," Alec continued, which was met from a defensive look from Kristoff, who was ready to defend himself if he were to be questioned on his loyalty to Elsa. Alec hurriedly waved his hand in the air, casting away any accusations that may have been implied.

"No, no, not you! You're the last person I would assume is betraying us," he declared hurriedly, clearly ashamed he had caused offense. Kristoff nodded, and gestured for him to go on. Alec's face softened as he realized he had not caused Kristoff to be angry, and he began to speak again.

"I'm a little suspicious of Bear," he admitted, his eyes flicking backwards to the scruffy, dark haired mountain that rode silently beside Oaken at the back of the group.

Kristoff wanted to look back to observe the quiet man, but didn't want to make it look too obvious, so he stayed facing forward, as he contemplated this observation.

He certainly didn't know much of anything about him, except that he was a seasoned fighter who was not to be trifled with. Kristoff wasn't sure how many blades he kept strapped to his body at all times, and he had the menacing stare of someone who could murder a person with their bare hands and their eyes closed. He was a mystery; a dangerous, brawny mystery that was an expert swordsman.

But did mystery equal betrayal?

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Well," Alec responded instantly, clearly glad Kristoff wasn't dismissing him as a fool, "he's pretty secretive, and he seems like the only option. Like we were saying, Elsa and Anna have a strange bond, you're her closest friend, Oaken despises Hans far too much to work for him... and he is absolutely loyal to Elsa. If its anyone, it must be him."

His theory was right, in a way, but not completely convincing. "You're making good points. It could be no one, though. It's more likely that it isn't one of us."

"Of course," he concurred. "But shouldn't we be watching out for anything that could harm Elsa's safety? We'd all feel terribly guilty if something were to happen because we overlooked something."

Kristoff felt a tiredness pierce his head at these words. He was right. Elsa needed to be kept safe, which had proven to be very hard on this trip. They should be proceeding down every avenue to ensure her safety, even if it meant keeping an eye on one of her very own guards. Elsa was a priority, she needed to be protected for the sake of Arendelle and if this was the way to do it, it had to be done. He just wished that it was easier.

"Yes," he finally responded in a voice steeped with exhaustion. "I suppose you're right, Alec."

* * *

Anna felt Elsa's breath tremble gently against her earlobe, the cool puff of air making her quiver. Her fingers tightened where they lay against the softness of her sleeve, the fabric bunching between her fingers. Her legs were wrapped loosely around the fair haired woman's waist, her gown hiking up over her ankles and scrunching up in the spots where they made contact with each other. Elsa's hair was soft against her cheek as she leaned against her, breathing in everything that was her.

"You're so warm," Elsa whispered, her breath once again skirting across Anna's skin. She smiled, burying her face in that blonde hair.

"And you're so cold," Anna laughed tenderly, slinging her arms around Elsa's shoulders. "It feels nice."

"Ice to cool your fire," she murmured back, her lips gently pressing against the soft skin of Anna's neck, lingering there, making her shiver again. Her lips felt life velvet against her flesh. "And fire to melt my ice," she breathed against her skin.

Anna smiled at her words.

"I feel so safe next to you."

"You're supposed to be my protector," Elsa quipped lightly in her ear, a teasing lilt in her voice. Anna just shook her head, not answering, and tightened her grip on the young Queen's shoulders.

_I don't care. This feels like the safest place in the world. _

She rested her cheek against Elsa's shoulder, and the other girl wrapped her arms tightly around Anna's waist, holding her tightly against her. Anna felt like she was melting into her, their bodies melding together as she sat in her lap, sprawled against her chest. She never wanted to let go. She wouldn't let go.

Wetness soaked her cheeks, and she reached up to brush away the streams of saltiness that were trickling down her face. She looked at her fingers as she drew them away from her face, and saw that they were slick with liquid. Tears.

"Why am I crying," she asked quietly, confused.

Elsa rested one hand on her head and proceeded to run it through her hair, the softness of her cool hands pressed against her. She leaned back to smile sadly at Anna, wiping the relentless tears away from her face.

"I suppose it's because you miss me Anna. I'm not really here."

"What?" Anna demanded, incredulous, her face pinched with disbelief. She pressed her palms on either side of the beautiful blonde's fair face, staring into those azure eyes that were usually so guarded but shone like open doors just for Anna, wishing she never had to look away.

"It's a dream, Anna."

"But I don't want it to be a dream," she cried, clinging to Elsa with all her strength.

"I know. I have to leave now, Anna."

"No! No, please, don't go. I miss you so much."

But she was already slipping away from Anna, her cool aura fading, swallowed into darkness. Anna was left alone and miserable, fingers still outstretched, searching for her.

_No. No, no, no. _

_Come back._

She woke with a jolt, a cry sticking in her throat as she was thrown back into consciousness, her head spinning with images of Elsa. The dream was sucked away, and she was left drenched with sweat and chest heaving with exertion.

She sniffed loudly, realizing that she had not been just crying in her dream. She scrubbed wildly at her face, trying to dry her face, but more tears kept falling. She drew her knees to her chest and buried her face in the fabric, a choked sob snaring in her throat.

She missed Elsa terribly. It had only been a few days at the most since she had seen her, and yet there was an ache inside her that Elsa's absence had caused. She was alone with a dragon, and she needed Elsa to be here with her. She was so alone that she could hardly stand it. Tears that she had been holding in since the moment she had awoke in the cave with the beast poured out of her eyes, and dripped down her face. She let them fall, allowing herself to feel this angst. This ache could not be subsided by ignoring it.

When her tears finally slowed, the sorrow subsided for the time being, she raised her head from her cocoon, and tried to gather her bearings. She'd fallen asleep inside the cave again, a result of the dragon hissing at her until she stumbled back inside, belly only half full with a meagre portion of nuts and berries she had managed to scrounge. She had wanted to stay outside in the fresh air, but the dragon, who had stalked her relentlessly as she searched the forest floor for food, was not happy with this desire of hers. Chances were she could have intimidated it into letting her stay outside, but she'd decided that she didn't want to test the limits of her control over it. She didn't want it to hate her any more than it already did. A dragon was a dangerous foe to have.

It was still night, the dark curtains drawn across the sky, everything smothered in a sea of blackness. The only light came from the tiny fire that she had brought to life with her magic before curling up to sleep on the hard ground, which illuminated the cavern faintly, making her and the dragon's shadows dance across the wall with every flicker of flame. She ran one hand through the gentle blaze, admiring the power and beauty of the light that flared up at her touch.

The dragon looked up at the movement, glaring at her warily through the darkness. It's body was tensed as it stared at her.

Anna managed a small smile in its direction. "You don't have to be afraid of me, I promise. I don't really know how to control you, even if I wanted to. Which I don't!"

The dragon snorted and rested its head on the ground, not taking its eyes off of her.

As she ran her fingers through the sparks and embers, enjoying the heat that sank deep into her bones, she felt the crushing sense of loneliness washing over her. She wanted to talk to someone, she wanted to be reassured that she was going to be okay, and that she would get out of this alive. But there was no one else, besides the dragon.

She felt tears pressing at her eyelids and immediately began to blink them away angrily. She would not start crying again, this was not a time for that. She needed to distract herself.

She could talk if she wanted to. There would just be no one there to answer.

She cleared her throat.

"I miss Elsa," she whispered. No reaction, of course. In a way, that was a good thing. It gave her the opportunity to continue uninterrupted. She tilted her head down and scuffed at the floor with her feet.

"I'm afraid that if I don't get out of this, she'll never know how much I care about her. I've hardly known her long at all, and yet she has become so important in my life. This kind of focal point that I find myself gravitating towards."

She paused, glancing up to see if the dragon was at least still looking at her so she could pretend that she had an audience. When she saw its eyes peering at her, she continued.

"She has magic too. All the years I've spent with magic bottled up inside of me, with no one to talk to about it, and then there she was. I had no idea what she was capable of. She made a blizzard come out of her hands, I've never seen anything like it. No wonder she was always so cold all the time. I thought it was just because I'm so hot all the time because of my magic."

Anna sighed and flopped over onto her side, curling up into a little ball, looking through the flames at her sole companion; the beast who despised her. She bit her lip as her mind swirled with unvoiced thoughts she had been keeping inside of her.

"I haven't cared so much about anyone since my parents cast me out," her voice caught on the words, old wounds that still festered aching at being reopened. She hadn't thought of this in so long, but now with all the new revelations regarding magic, she felt those suppressed memories seeping out through the cracks in the tattered boxes she had stored them in for all those years. Magic had not made life easy for her, and it was so often that she tried to forget that.

It couldn't be ignored right now.

"Magic isn't always welcomed with open arms you know," she said with a derisive laugh. "It's not unheard of that parents will disown their children for being magical. They think that we will become dangerous, and they wish to protect themselves. What they don't realize is that the best chance for us magical children, is to find us someone to teach us to control it."

Her voice was teeming with pent up anger and regret as she thought back to the moment when her parents had discovered her powers. She had been in their tiny kitchen, stoking the fire under the stove to keep the embers alive and emanating heat. She had been admiring the way they glowed through the darkness of the charred wood, the way they crackled softly in their ironclad bed. She thought they were so beautiful.

By this time she was only fifteen, and had become aware of her powers many years before this. She was always careful to keep it hidden, in case someone saw her practicing sorcery and didn't like it.

But at that time, sitting on her own in front of a lightly lit pool of cinders, she couldn't resist. She wanted to feel her magic sparking through her veins.

And so she had raised her hand in front of her, calling on that heat that constantly churned at her core, and let erupt in her palm like a storm of flame. The fire pour out of her and flowed into the ball of heat, twisting and snaking around her wrists as she controlled it. She loved the fire, the heat. She was always so hot, the fire residing just below the surface, always waiting for her to call upon it. It hardly took any effort at all to control the fire in her possession. She had thought in that moment that she would never love anything as much as the feeling of fire sprouting from her fingertips.

It was then that her mother came into the room, and all hell broke loose. After staring in shock, she screamed for Anna's father. There was a blur of screaming and crying and damnations thrown in her direction, and before she could grasp what was happening, she was a lone fifteen year old girl, leaving home with hardly any more than the clothing on her back. A lonely runaway, searching for a home and never finding one. She became a vagabond, a traveller. A woman without a home.

"It's a lonely life, that my magic has brought me," she whispered softly into the darkness. "I've always been good at being optimistic about rough situations, but it got difficult sometimes. Being alone is hard. Elsa made me feel not so lonely anymore. I might never see her again."

As those words left her lips she jolted into a seated position, shaking herself. She was spiralling downwards into a pit that she wouldn't have the strength to get out of. She needed to focus on survival, not her past grievances.

_Dwelling on it won't change anything, Anna. You'd better do something that can actually change it. _

She took a deep breath, and forced herself to do just that.

The dragon growled at her softly as she stood up. Every muscle in her body ached from spending so much time on the rough ground, and all of her bones creaked as if she had aged fifty years in the time that she had been held in this dreadful cave. She stretched herself out as much as she could and made her way around the fire with small, tentative steps, maintaining eye contact the whole time. She willed her feet to keep moving until she was a short distance away from the dragon, and she crouched down, leaning on the backs of her heels. She reached inside herself for her magic, and without any dramatic gesture or movement at all, she commanded her magic to reveal itself in a thin ring of flame that circled around her.

The dragon snarled and shied backwards a few steps, and Anna raised one hand to her mouth, pressing one finger to her lips. "Shhh, I'm not going to hurt you, remember?" she spoke in a soothing tone, trying to regulate the rolling of her voice into a gentle sound that would calm the creature.

After a few agonizing minutes of screeching and yowling, the dragon gradually quieted, stopping a few paces back from where it had been standing before, breathing heavily and eying her cautiously, its tail still thrashing back and forth and smashing against the stone walls. Anger glinted in its eyes, but she didn't feel like it was going to charge at her any time soon. She maintained the flickering of her ring of fire around her, as she sank into a seated position.

"In the tale of Arabelle," she continued in that same soft voice, calm and quiet, "the dragon was called Forseti. So I am going to call you that."

After a few moments of being face to face with those sharp, white teeth, she did something that could have potentially been extremely dangerous. She was always one to push for a moment's thrill, and this was a situation that called for that.

With one small flick of her fingers, she extinguished all of the flames in the room, and darkness cloaked itself over them, shrouding them with the colour of the depths of night. Only a moment passed before she made them spring back to life, the cave filled with the sounds of the Forseti's adamant disapproval. His face was grimaced in fury, as its smoky breath gusted in clouds around her face. She fought the urge to flinch away, and stood her ground. She needed to seem confident.

Forseti quieted eventually, his raging controlled, for the time being. When he was silent, she opened her mouth to speak again.

"I will never control you," she proclaimed firmly in her most soothing voice. "I will never treat you as a slave. You are a dragon. Wildness and freedom are bound to your being, because you are as unattainable as the fire that lies in your lungs. The day I wish you to do as I command, will be the day that you want to."

* * *

Elsa lost herself in the slow rocking gait of her horse beneath her as they journeyed down the rough terrain that would eventually lead them to where Anna was.

Olaf scurried along beside Alf, bounding purposefully through the foliage with his tufts of black and white fur disappearing into pools of green, before he leapt from the bushes and continued on. He was growing abnormally fast, Elsa had noticed; he looked to be about twice the age that she knew him to be. She had been concerned that he wouldn't be able to keep up with their train, but every day he seemed to grow stronger and faster, never once falling behind. She didn't understand it, and yet she did not question it. She was just happy that made one less problem she had to deal with.

Four days, they had been travelling. Four slow, infuriatingly long days that felt as though they dragged on just for the mere purpose of hardening the ball of anxiety that felt permanently lodged in Elsa's stomach. They felt no closer to Anna, and every moment felt like they were losing valuable time. She wanted to go faster, to gallop as hard as they could until they finally found her, but they were most likely being tracked. They had to be as stealthy as possible, to avoid any further complications. They didn't need any more delays.

Kristoff and Alec rode a ways up the road in front of her, while Oaken and Bear trailed behind, guarding from the rear. She was sandwiched in the middle, safe as they could manage. If Anna was here, she would be riding beside her, keeping her company and lifting her spirits with her charm and infectious laughter.

The thought of her made her heart pang sharply, and she dismissed it immediately. She didn't want to allow herself to be distracted by how much her heart ached at the thought of missing her. She made herself become absorbed in the scenery around them; the draping trees that drooped down with their branches lush and green, the bright sunlight that trickled down to pepper the forest floor, the intoxicating scent of pine needles and fresh air. She made herself comb every sense for any potential danger, occupying her mind with the thought of her group's safety.

She was startled out of her thoughts when Kristoff drew up beside her, his horse speeding up until he was beside her, astride his steed.

"Hey," he said, a verbalized nudge in his voice. Elsa looked over at him coolly out of the corner of her eye, a raised eyebrow her only response.

"How are you doing," he asked, concern for his best friend apparent in his voice. Elsa knew that he had probably not seen her as distraught as she had been in the past couple days, for years. He was probably right to be worried.

Nonetheless, she didn't want to talk about it. "I'm find," she asserted in a firm voice, hoping he would take the hint and leave it alone. In true Kristoff style - he did not.

"You're not fine at all Elsa, I've never seen you like this! I know it's terrible that we lost Anna, but you don't have to be so prickly about it. We're going to -"

"Kristoff. Please," she pleaded, her mouth set in a hard line as she stared forward. She tried her hardest not to betray any of her emotion on her face, shutters closing over her features. She was given away by a slight tremor in her bottom lip that she could not control.

Kristoff was kind enough to not point it out when he spoke after a long, tense pause.

"You really care about her, don't you?" he asked in a consoling, sympathetic voice.

She nodded once quickly, willing herself to hold in the sob that was climbing up her throat and pressing against her lips.

_I care about her so much. I want her safe._

"Elsa, we'll get her back," he reassured her in his calm, kind voice. She wanted to believe him. She really did, but she was so scared for Anna. Nothing anyone said could chase away the fear that had settled in her heart.

"Can we please... talk about something else," she begged, barely controlled emotion bleeding into her words, despite her efforts to hold them deep inside. There was just too much rushing around inside of her, she couldn't help that some of it demanded release. They were approaching a break in the dense wooded area, a clear expanse of thick grassland that swayed like one big wave with every gust of wind, forming up ahead. They were coming up on a clearing that opened up into a clear and glistening stream that trickled with vigor as the water rushed through the full belly that was the riverbed. Elsa's mouth yearned for water.

"Sure," he agreed. "Actually, there is something I'd like to talk to you about. Alec and I were discussing out current situation and -"

He was cut off by the loud barking of Olaf, who was suddenly growling at something unseen to the rest of them, the hairs on his back bristling as he hunched over in a defensive position.

"What is it," Elsa asked with a frown embedded in her forehead. She wasn't one to take the instinctive warnings of an animal lightly.

Olaf whined up at her, his body twitching back and forth as he dashed around in sudden excitement.

She was about to turn around to alert her commander that they should proceed with caution, when something whizzed by her eyes, shocking her back into her saddle. She swung around to see a finely crafted arrow burrow itself into a tree trunk to her right, piercing the bark of the trunk and splintering into its heart. Olaf was wild now, howling and barking so loud that it almost drowned out the shouts that were suddenly resounding around them from all directions.

"It's an ambush," Kristoff bellowed, his sword already scraping out of its scabbard. Elsa's was in her hand as well as soon as she realized what was happening. They were under attack, yet again. She was prepared for whatever this wretched journey was going to throw at her this time.


	16. Bloodlust

**A/N:** Two things! First, this chapter is a lot of short snippets of all the character POV that I've been writing from, so it's a little bit different from other chapters, but I hope you like it. I just felt that it was the best way to write this part, now that there's more storylines to follow. Not much focus on Elsa and Anna romance, sorry. Next chapter!

Second, the wonderful pazgranger just did the lovely cover art for this story, and you should go to my profile for a link to her tumblr for a better look at it :).

As always, thanks for the support!

* * *

It amazed Elsa how quickly everything can fall apart, ripping at the seams and spilling rotten innards all around in a cascading rain of chaos.

In the few moments that had passed since they had become aware of being under attack, she had swung her sword more times than she cared to count, and blood had stained her sword in a film of crimson wetness. The air was ringing with the sounds of blades crashing, and laboured grunts that emitted from the panting mouths of friend and foe alike.

They'd come bursting out through the trees with a shrill cry, all five of them with their weapons drawn and bloodlust on their faces. The fight had begun immediately, steel on steel reverberating through the air in sharp claps of thunder.

At the moment, she was slashing at a scrawny, beardless young man who sat astride a horse that looked hardly any better off than him. Her prowess shimmered with each movement of her blade, her skill outshining her opponent. His sword arm was weak as he lunged at her with his blade held in a poor grip. Elsa felt the training inside of her shining out as she watched each of his moves, thinking thoughts like _he should have his elbow in more when he does that_, and _he's not doing that movement properly, it's a wonder he didn't lose his balance there. _

Elsa knew it was going to be an easy fight when she was mentally correcting her opponent's swordsmanship.

It didn't take long for her to feint a blow to his lower body, and flick her sword up expertly at just the right moment to knick his left shoulder, drawing blood on contact. He hissed in pain, and clutched at the fresh wound. His face grimaced in pain as his laboured breaths came in quick heavy gasps of fatigue and pain. Blood was slipping through his fingers steadily, running down his arm and staining his shirt red.

He glared at her as he backed his horse away, anger and loathing shining in his hard eyes.

"Do you want to continue, or do you surrender?" Elsa asked graciously, adjusting her weapon in her hand as Alf danced beneath her.

He spit rudely at her feet with a prominent scowl embedded in his cheeks. He scoffed angrily, and instantly turned his horse around, kicking the brown mount into a canter.

_Coward. _

It was now that Elsa drew herself out of that particular fight, and took in her surroundings.

Only one pair was still fighting; Alec, who was better with a bow than a sword, was still hacking away on foot at a man who looked to be about as gaunt and pathetic as the man that Elsa had just beat. For a moment she considered going over to help him, but she imagined that he'd be embarrassed if he, a Queen's guard, was aided by the Queen herself. Oaken, Bear and Kristoff were all watching with their still drawn weapons, clearly thinking the same thing.

And he seemed to be holding out fairly well on his own. The man had crude skills with his sword, his footwork sloppy and his movements slow and choppy. Alec avoided using complex moves, and he wasn't overly strong, but he moved with precision and accuracy. He was in no danger.

Sure enough, it was only a few moments longer before Alec knocked him sprawling on his behind, sputtering and clutching at a minor wound in his abdomen. Alec was courteous and didn't continue fighting while he was incapacitated on the ground, but when the man finally did rise to his feet, it was to dash towards his horse and to speed away.

Alec grumbled something under his breath as he swung off of his horse, probably something about the cowardice of running away, and brushed himself off as he sheathed his weapon.

I swung myself off of Alf's back, and made my way over to where the one fallen body that lay on the ground in a pool of blood. I knelt down beside him, reaching out gingerly to push one hand against his throat to feel for a heartbeat. Nothing.

"Well I wasn't expecting that," Kristoff huffed behind her, accompanied by the scathing sound of his sword sliding back into its scabbard. "Do you think it was more people after Elsa?"

She straightened up and turned around, her knee popping uncomfortable as she rose to her feet. "Definitely not. These were just plain old mercenaries. They looked like they were starving to death, and they weren't dressed like sell swords."

Oaken frowned at her words, his face creasing in worry and confusion. "All the way out here? We're in the middle of nowhere. People like this don't usually come out this far."

Elsa nodded in agreement, a sad look crossing her face as she looked back down at the man who lay dead at her feet. "My guess is that Hans isn't doing much to augment the distribution of goods to the citizens of Arendelle. These men reek of desperation. They probably have families they needed to feed."

"Now that I think about it," Kristoff mused, a concerned look on his face, "back in Dreka I heard talk of how more and more people were starving and turning to robbing strangers for money. I guess they're pushing out further and further.

"Hans is destroying this country," Oaken said softly, rage burning beneath his words.

Elsa felt that same rage boiling under her skin, as she kept her eyes on the man who may have left a family behind; a loving spouse, children. All most likely hungry and waiting for him to come home. If she could have given him his life back to him, she would, in a heartbeat.

She'd make Hans pay for what he was doing to her people.

* * *

The dark haired man was furious. His blood was raging with fury, his hands aching to hit something, to break something.

But, then again, he hardly could recall a time he didn't feel this way.

He spun around from where he stood facing the window in his study, to cast a piercing glare at the fidgeting butler that stood nervously behind him.

"What do you mean, I lost the dragon?" he seethed through his teeth, swallowing the anger that threatened to spill out of him.

Howard cleared his throat and tugged at his collar nervously. "W-Well," he sputtered, "I mean that, well, another sorceress defeated it."

"How is that possible!" he screamed, rushing forward and clutching at the frightened little man, spittle flying out from his lips as he raved. "I had the most powerful man I could find controlling it, where the fuck is he?"

Howard coughed and rubbed as his face, clearly fighting the urge to back away from the King, who was hovering over him with his ominous presence. "He's uh..."

"He's what?" Hans spat.

"He's dead," Howard whispered after a short pause, clenching his eyes shut and preparing himself for a brutal reaction.

Hans felt the rage dissipate in an instant, and he let go of the man, shoving him backwards. He felt cold now. Cold and empty. This was the last straw for him. He had worked too hard for this.

He made his way back over to the window calmly, his back to the snivelling servant. He stared out at the water that was glistening in the midday sunlight, dancing around across the shore of the fjord.

_His_ fjord. It was all his, and he was going to keep it that way.

"Howard," he said in a low calculation voice. "Find me something better. Something foolproof. I want Elsa dead, and I want her dead as soon as possible."

"Yes Your Majesty," he squeaked, and Hans heard the door slowly creaking open.

"Oh and Howard," he called out, making the butler pause.

"Yes, my King?"

Hans turned then, his eyes burning with a threat, flaming with all the vile thoughts that were crammed into his mind.

"This is your last chance. If she's not dead this time, you will be."

* * *

Anna tested the string, pulling it across her body and felt the pliable cord stretch perfectly, snapping it back against the wood with a satisfying snap.

She smiled wide at the sound, internally patting herself on the back as she looked down at her creation.

The crude bow she'd made out of a spare string that she always kept tucked away in one of her pockets had come in handy when she had realized that she was desperately in need of a weapon; to hunt if not for her own protection. She'd used the small knife she kept hidden in her boot to whittle the shape of the bow out of a piece of wood that she'd found after she had spent an entire day scouring the forested area that flanked the side of the mountain.

She was satisfied with the result, however rough it may be. At least it was something.

She struggled to her feet carefully, pushing herself off the rock she had been sitting on, casting a quick glance over her shoulder to look at where Forseti lay sleeping at the mouth of the cave, his great belly rising and falling with its cavernous breaths of slumber. Smoking exhalations gushed from his nostrils in a cloud around where his head lay relaxed on the ground.

She shook her head with a roll of her eyes at the fact that he was so soundly asleep in the middle of the day, before sauntering off into the woods.

Tonight, she would eat_ real _food.

* * *

"It has to be him, Kristoff!" Alec exclaimed in a sharp whisper across the gap between their two rocking horses that were stumbling the uneven ground.

He was frowning as he stared ahead, shaking his head at the accusation. "Alec we already established that this attack had absolutely nothing to do with Elsa. They were just plain robbers on the road, nothing more than that. It happens to a lot of travellers.

Alec scoffed quietly and flopped back into his saddle. "No," he insisted. "Hans could've still hired them, maybe he thought it would be effective since using magic didn't work."

Kristoff laughed at this, throwing the man beside him a shrewd look. "Alec those men were hardly stronger than children. There is no way Hans would hire them."

"But Kristoff, it's the only think that makes sense."

"It makes no sense!" Kristoff sighed in exasperation, shrugging his shoulders up around his ears. "Look, I know you need someone to blame, and it's easy to point fingers because you're angry-"

"I'm not pointing fingers," he interrupted in a confident voice. "I'm more and more sure of it every day."

"Well, I'm not. I see no reason to suspect Bear."

"Kristoff, I-"

"Alec! Stop," he interjected with a hard look on his face. "Why are you so sure that he's betrayed us? It's more likely that Hans has someone tracking us."

Alec was staring straight ahead, his body rigid and guarded, his face thoughtful and clouded with some dark expression Kristoff couldn't decipher.

It was a long time before he finally answered in a quiet, irate voice. "It just makes sense."

Kristoff had turned away, not seeing the determined look on his face, the gleam in his eyes that screamed more than his words did.

* * *

The deer she had caught was roasting wonderfully on a makeshift spit, in a magical fire that she fueled with her own hands. It rose flickering and vibrant, dancing across her jovial expression. She was just so happy that she finally had something that wasn't berries to eat.

"Look!" she shouted happily over her shoulder towards the cave, its occupant laying nearby. Forseti sprung to his feet with his nostrils flaring and his face wary, but he didn't growl. He'd gotten over that days ago, the day that she'd begun counting the sunrises, and now just watched her with what she assumed was suspicion and caution. It was better than the constant snarling every time she moved.

"Food," she cried joyfully, not caring that she was talking to a beast that couldn't talk, she was just so pleased with herself, for making the weapon

The dragon watched her with its beady eyes, peering at her as she worked, turning the hunks of juicy meat to ensure that it cooked thoroughly.

It didn't take long for her to finish, the meat sizzling and spitting with heat, filling the air around her with a thick savory aroma. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent. She extinguished the fire, and prepared herself to eat.

Then a thought struck her, and in an instant she was standing, and walking over to where she had left the remains of her catch, the parts that she had felt a sinking guilt over not having any way to preserve it, and it being too much for her to eat at once. Now, she had a solution.

Forseti watched her carefully, staring with those dark, blazing eyes that never left the quiet movements of her body.

"You know, I have all this meat sitting here and it would be a waste for it to not be eaten," she said softly, reaching down to find a place to grasp it sturdily, and begin dragging it over to her companion. "I assume you eat meat... I mean of course you eat meat, you're the size of a house. You can't survive on leaves."

She maintained eye contact as she crept closer and closer, and Forseti stayed still, watching her every movement.

"And so, I'm going to give this to you. You haven't left the cave for a while, have you been eating?" she laughed at herself and shook her head. "You obviously can't answer, but I'm going to assume you haven't."

Now she was standing right in front of him, an arm's length away, staring up at the great dragon that was looking right back at her.

It surprised her how unafraid she was.

"You know," she said softly, stepping forward cautiously. "I think you're not as terrifying as you appear."

He flinched at her close proximity, shuddering his whole body with a strange whine in his throat.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Anna murmured, her voice low, calm. She didn't want to frighten him even more than he already seemed to be of her.

It still amazed her that _he_ was scared of _her_.

"You're going to have to learn to trust me," she whispered, brushing away a strand of hair that swept across her face and tickled her cheek with a gentle wind. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She took another step forward, a brazen feeling clutching at her belly. She felt daring, like she just wanted to do something unsafe just for the thrill. She was itching out of her skin with no one to talk to, no adventure, only a moody, overgrown lizard to keep her company. It was driving her insane.

And that's why she felt her hand slowly rising, her sword hand, the one that had seen so many battles, protecting the ones who needed protecting. Now, she wasn't protecting herself, and yet she wasn't scared. There was no fear inside of her.

"I won't hurt you," she repeated, her fingers outstretched for Forseti's side, hand searching for his skin.

When she made contact, he jolted, and made a sound that rumbled in his belly, but he didn't shy away or eat her, so she didn't back away. She kept her hand there, in awe of what she was doing.

The skin was hard, rippled and rough around the edge of each scale, but warm, as if the fire was always brewing in his belly, the same way it felt inside of Anna with every breath she drew into her lungs. She could feel each fiery breath as it shook inside of him, his scaled neck heaving softly. He was looking down at her, still wary, but allowing her to stay with her hand pressed against his skin.

She splayed her fingers, and moved her hand up across the sharp shell that was his skin, feeling every crevice against her fingertips, sliding roughly across her palm. It was like jumping into an ocean teeming with sharks, and not one of them attempting to snatch you in their jaws. He was cautious and unsure of why the fiery redhead was touching him, but he was letting her reluctantly, some of the feral hatred fading from his black eyes.

"There," she whispered, a smile spreading across her lips. "That's not so bad, is it?"


End file.
